Greetings follow climbers!
The sunshine is here and just like that the switch has flipped post July 4th! Those living in the PNW have swapped their rain jackets for t-shirts and sandals. Since last week high pressure has dominate the PNW with hot and sunny days across the region. Seattle experienced its first heat wave of the season with temperatures in the 90’s. Climbers are taking advantage of this phenomenal weather across the Cascades. With the hot, sunny weather we recommend that climbers and hikers pay close attention to drinking plenty of water, and consider using electrolyte mixes to stay hydrated.
Currently climbers on Mt Rainier and Mt Baker have switched to using single boots. Note that if conditions change, guides might recommend switching back to double boots if warranted.
Koma Kulshan (Mount Baker) & North Cascades
Koma Kulshan continues to provide excellent conditions and teams continue to summit daily on both the Northside and Southside. The approach on both sides of the route is about 70% trail/dirt and melting quickly. With the trails being mostly snow free, we recommend that climbers to use trail shoes to approach camps. At Sandy Camp (Easton Glacier route) there is still over 6ft of snow and we anticipate this camp staying snow covered for some time. In other parts of the Cascades teams have been successful climbing Mt Adams, Olympus, and Glacier Peak over the recent week. Our guided trips in the Washington Pass area have reported that the seasonal snow is almost all melted. With the quickly melting snow the mosquitos have come out and for those camping in lower elevations (treeline) we recommend using bug spray at this time.
Tahoma (Mount Rainier)
With the recent sunny weather a lot of the seasonal snow around Paradise has melted. We are recommending trail shows from the parking lot on both the Muir route and the Emmons route. Note that on the Muir route climbers are switching to mountain boots at the Muir Snowfield (1/2 way to camp Muir). Above Camp Muir the route is in good condition and teams are reaching the summit daily. The Disappointment Cleaver is slowly melting out and climbers will find around 25% of the Cleaver to be snow covered. Above the Cleaver, the route is direct and has 1 ladder crossing at 13,100 ft. Once above the ladder the route makes a few switchbacks as it heads up to Columbia Crest. Overall the route is direct and in good climbing condition. Our recent Emmons trip summited and noted the upper mountain was in good shape with a direct route up the Corridor to the summit. Our Kautz team last week had 100% climber success, and guides noted that the Kautz Ice Chute was climbing well.
Lastly, with the warmer temperatures guides at the gear check have been adjusting the required equipment list to match the current conditions. Please understand that the gear list is a tool for packing based on all weather conditions and upon arrival at the gear check, the guide might adjust based on the short term forecast.
Thank you for following our blog, and happy climbing!
We provide a weekly conditions report. Stay tuned for next week’s update!
