MCR Observation

Mountain Conditions Report

<p>Hi all,</p> <p>Traveled up to the Sir Donald area May 16-17. The Illecillewaet campground parking lot was closed, which added ~30minutes to the walk-in. The trail was predominantly dry, with one creek crossing in the lower valley over a snow bridge and one unbridged crossing. Up higher there was some snow travel, though we wore trail runners all the way to bivy sites below Sir Donald's West face. </p> <p>Our original plan was foiled due to a lack of overnight freeze. We hiked up to the Uto-Sir Donald col to scope out the NW ridge. Despite looking in shape from the W side of the col, the N side of the ridge still holds a decent amount of snow, which would likely make for slow travel. Our plan C was Uto's SW ridge, which was almost completely dry, with several snow patches that were easily bypassed on the rock ridge. A pleasant day out on solid quartzite! We downclimbed the ridge with one short rappel.</p> <p>Attached a photo near the summit of Uto, NW ridge of Sir Donald in the background. </p> <p>Regards,</p> <p>Maarten van Haeren<br /> ACMG Apprentice Rock Guide<br /> CAA Level 1</p>