Had a couple good days out in the hills over the long weekend.

On September 5th, we climbed Brewers Buttress on Castle Mountain on a hot summery day. The route was in good shape however the descent gully was a bit more rugged than it often is with a lot of dry hard dirt making for tedious walking. There is a slow trickle Of water available from the gully by the hut although we didn’t use it.

Yesterday on September 7th, we climbed Aberdeen and Haddo via the north glacier in winter conditions. New snow below tree line and up to 5cm up high melted off on solar aspects as the skies cleared throughout the day. The route has changed noticeably since my last ascent a few years ago. The glacial tongue is narrower and less steep than it used to be and the face above the schrund now requires a 5m section of rock climbing to gain the Aberdeen Haddo col. The schrund is more complicated than average but still reasonable to get through. Temperatures stayed below zero all day on north aspects providing excellent conditions for both ascent and descent.

Ian Jackson
ACMG Mountain Guide
Canmore, AB