Hello climbers,
It’s been warm over the past week, but that is all hopefully about to change. A weather system will push inland over the weekend, bringing cooler temperatures and additional chances of showers to the mountains. Cooler temperatures will then persist through the first half of next week, making ideal climbing conditions again. Even though there has been some lowland smoke blowing in, the mountains have stayed generally clear so far.
Mount Rainier (Tahoma)
The standard climbing routes on Mount Rainier are showing classic late-July transitions, with snow melting rapidly on some aspects. However, routes remain in remarkably good condition. On the Disappointment Cleaver route things are still in stellar shape: after clearing the cleaver, expect a well worn climbing path and mellower terrain from the Emmons Shoulder all the way up to Columbia Crest. On the Emmons, climbing remains highly direct and in good condition. Teams are moving efficiently through the Corridor before traversing over toward the Winthrop Shoulder on the way to summit. Finally, the Kautz is holding in great condition for late July. There is good coverage on the approach to the Wilson Bench and the ice pitches are finally starting to steepen up a bit. This week’s 10-day course reported stellar conditions!
Mount Baker (Koma Kulshan)
It’s been warm the last few days on Baker but not much has changed when it comes to the route. A few more crevasses have opened up on the Easton Glacier, and teams are having no problems redirecting the route as needed to the summit. The north side routes are still climbable with no significant changes over the last week as well. Finally, the road is still washed out adding a couple hours to the approach to all the North Side routes.
Across the Cascades
Even though it was warm, climbers still got out and had perfect mid-summer climbing conditions throughout the rest of the Cascades. A team reported back that the Fisher Chimneys on Shuksan was climbing straightforward and found things haven’t melted out yet in the steeper snow portions of the climb. Glacier peak was relatively snow free almost all the way to White Chuck Camp. Guides commented that the track to the summit is the most direct and well-established trail they had ever seen. The glacier is in good shape still and there was just a bit of snow left on the summit ridge. Lastly, we had group climbing peaks all around the Eldorado zone. The approach trail is still kind of rough, but once up high they enjoyed stellar alpine climbing in one of the prettiest zones in the entire Cascades.
See you in the mountains!
