Ghost

Quick mission out to the North Ghost and Devil’s Gap today (April 5). Access: The road past the bridge is passable, though it definitely has the potential to eat your car. Red (A) is the best option—any non-lifted 4x4 can make it without issues. Blue (B) will eat your car. The water was over the hood of a Tacoma I watched drive through—definitely snorkel territory. Green (C) was quite deep but still passable with a lifted 4x4 truck. We opted for Red (A) with our Jeep on 35s and a 2.5-inch lift and had zero issues. The road was icy the rest of the way but easily manageable. River crossings in the North Ghost and into Devil’s Gap are all straightforward, with no major ice shelves. Weather: -1°C in the valley bottom around noon. The area was completely socked in with less than 200 m visibility. We never laid eyes on any climbs due to the poor visibility. Light snow fell for most of the day, with very light wind in the valley bottom.

Lots of snow on E aspects, W aspects looked scoured but experienced medium to heavy sluffing regardless. Heavy wind transport at ridgetop all day, evidence of a older size 2 with complex crowns, and slides to the ground across the valley. Sizeable cornices have formed overlooking E aspects. The last rain event had water run over the climb, a giving it a bit of a refresh, but new ice layer is brittle and not well bonded to ice under it, large dinnerplates sometimes.

It snowed way more than forecasted, walking back to car there was 15-20 cm of new snow, and still snowing hard. Wind transport was heavy, sluffing off steep walls permanent, in between pitches slabs develloped rapidly, lots of graupel running down from gully above.

-14C at trailhead at 10:00, increasing to about -4C at 16:00. The recent snowfall left ≈15cm of light, fluffy snow over a well-consolidated base. The new snow remained loose and light, even with a bit of warming later in the day. Numerous small snowball sluffs were visible throughout the route, mostly started by tree bombs above. There was debris from a very small slide coming down from the East side above one of the the steeper snow ramps (which probably has ice underneath, but it was well covered by snow). Narrower parts of the canyon certainly call for careful risk assessment, efficient movement, and spacing out of the party. There was one random snow block the size of a large ottoman sitting by itself in the middle of the gully (odd). We chose to forego the final pitch above treeline due to concerns about snow above. All rap anchors are accessible, mostly at knee height. While the ice pitches are short due to snow accumulation, the ice quality was good and can be expected to stay that way for the coming week at least, and potentially much longer with little to no sun hitting it.

Above this house of sky we noted a large pile (potentially sz 3ish) of debris with no noticeable crown. Did not slide over climb, but was very close. Also lots of cracking and whumpfing throughout the day, so we decided not to attempt the WI4 pitch above the climb. Actual climb seems to have lots of snow from the recent large snowfalls, which has made the pitches a lot shorter.

Did not climb due to spindrift coming down the climb and loading above the climb due to unforecasted wind speed and direction not shown in Windy or on Spotwx models in the alpine above climb beforehand. Waiparous creek road was easy to drive in a stock 4wd truck. The hike was pretty straight forward snow walking with a bit of a boot pack most of the way.

* Driving. TransAlta road is decent. Hard pack snow with some ice under it occasional spots. Coming out was slushy so could lead to icy spots with an overnight freeze. Snow getting moved around by strong winds when you get in the valley. Worst section was after the old diversion dam but weekend offroader traffic may best ruts back into it again. From the dam to river Crossing 40 was the bulk of the drifting and less of a problem from there to Beowulf. * On the first pitch, the first step is heavily sun affected. The main step has some sun effect but not as bad, has some shady spots of good ice for screws. The fracture that happened in late Dec is visible but seems stable. Rap anchors are easily accessible now. * The middle rambles have had a lot of snow deposited and are in good shape. The first bigger step was a little wet on its left at the top out going up with a little water pooling as you went around the corner. Rapping down, the upper part was well wet. The longer flow going into the narrow canyon was sun affected but climbed well. A short wet flow on the right entering the narrows was easily avoided. * The end pitches were a mix of wet and dry lines. Quite a bit of fracturing on this ice.

Base is very thin. Barely thick enough to ski. Until we get more snow bring your rock skis

* The drive was uneventful with icy sections having snow packed over them. Only issue was driving out and going down into the double hill Dip, braking made for sliding. River Crossing mild, barely any ice shelves, and even icy ramps were ok. * Approach still a stumble but ok. * Was expecting it to be colder so left late hoping the midday sun would soften the climb. Gearing up in the sun was gorgeous with pretty much no wind. Surprisingly the first step was calving off large ice blocks with many swings. Figured if the main part was fracturing as bad then I'd retreat. Although there was a little fracturing it was mostly good climbing. Climb was dry and snow sat on most small ledges. Sufficient little ledges to grab a rest. There were a couple of those clear tubes showing running water inside. Not too steep until the upper part of the main pillar. Ice was a little featured and had a clear tube. That led into the narrows. This gets wider as it bulks out during the season but is currently a bit of a squeeze, barely shoulder width chimney. The ice is not too well formed. Ok for tools but doubt you'd get a screw in the narrows. You should be able to place screws below the narrows though I think. I apologise but one tool placement unleashed a little gusher. It seemed to drain mostly to climbers right side of the climb and could form some chandelier. However if it forms better ice than on the left, I'll accept beers 😂 * After reaching the top of P1 there is a deep pool open and awaiting your swim. Looked deep, about 3-4m beyond the P1 rap station. Having forgotten my swim shorts I decided round 2 with Beowulf made me tied a round each. I did not see a fracture from a week or so ago and did not see the old V-thread. Worth noting that the rap anchor at the top was easy to reach, but the one at the halfway ledge was above my reach. Hooking the anchor and holding a tool while threading the rope through may have been the crux for me. Enjoy all you long legged mofos who can just reach up and thread the rope. * After rapping down it started feeling colder as if the temp was dropping. The road seemed to have a bit more snow accumulated but at the base of the climb it was only 2-3cm of new snow. * Also Angel Eyes had more ice than often typical. Looked steep and the nature of the ice could make protection challenging but maybe this week's polar vortex will help fatten it. I'd expect the -20 to -30c temps incoming may fatten things up a bit but Beowulf and other climbs are likely to become very brittle. I'm happy to have found it in good shape today.

Up to 10cms of medium to low density snow had fallen without wind overnight. The climb required lots of snow clearing. Lots of wind transport on the surrounding peaks and ridges were noted later in the afternoon of the 23rd. The next strong wind event will likely spice things up on the drive into the ghost, and the walkoff from THOS.

Up to 10cms of medium to low density snow had fallen without wind overnight. The climb required lots of snow clearing. Lots of wind transport on the surrounding peaks and ridges were noted later in the afternoon of the 23rd. The next strong wind event will likely spice things up on the drive into the ghost, and the walkoff from THOS.

Windward aspects mostly scrubbed clean of last night's 2cm new snow. Some light transport at ridge top and lower in early afternoon. The terrain here is big, but generally blows off fast, and I've seldom seen debris over size 1 on west facing terrain in this area. I'd still be cautious below lee accumulation zones downwind of big fetches (Hydro, Sorcerer etc) especially with new snow or high winds but stepping out mindset on windward climbs. Nice climbing, bit wet and chandeliered in places. Drive mostly easy.

*The driving was generally straight forward and Creek crossings easy. A couple crossings had icy ramps in/out adding just a touch of spice. *The approach up Claw Creek is the same as ever, stumble blocks. At the fork we crossed to the bank along the right side (north). It provided easy walking while it lasted. Just after Keso, where you reach an ice step, we chose to go around the slope on the right rather than crampon up. Possibly wise as from above it looked thin ice though the short narrow canyon. There is a boot pack to follow now however our in tracks were partially blown over so they may get hard to follow as time goes on. *Valley bottom observations. BlackRock Falls looked huge. Morning alpenglow was amazing. GBU looked climbable on the left, hard on the right, and neither side is as wide or as formed as usual yet. Actually better than I expected given it sunny aspect. Someone had posted a pic of the Sliver but it's now missing a section and not in. Sitkas Slide looked in. The lower ice looked blue, last pitch is there. Kesos Curtain was in although we could only see the lower steps. *Tuk Taku. Climb is in and we belated three pitches, with some small steps and walking between belays. Generally there was a fair amount of fracturing but the ice was pretty fat and 16cm's were easily used. 10's not really needed. We observed some minor snow being blown down the slope beside the start of the climb. Some pockets of wind slab on route with cracking as we climbed though those slabs but mostly it was faceted. While belaying the first pitch my partner broke a small water dam and a trickle of water came down the left side. He climbed the centre so rope stayed dry. Climbed and protected well. As I moved above him toward flatter terrain I broke another water dam that released an enormous hydraulic. A wave of water washed down the small steps and first pitch and lasted 5-10 minutes. My warning allowed my partner to move over on his belay and stay dry. I managed to mostly flip the ropes out of the deluge in its initial stage, but he likened the wave coming at him to the scene from Indiana Jones. The second pitch we belayed leads me to believe the climb is well under graded. It was very steep and long. Initially the ice was somewhat chandeliered but improved, with some shell needing to be broken in a couple spots. Another walk/small steps above that lead to what would be our final belayed pitch. Another nice pitch but during the lead a small snow squall passed through. As I climbed I had some snow spindrifting on me. Above that another low angled pitch existed. We couldn't see above that so don't know how much more of the route was left. Between the snow that was happening, the increased snow surrounding the route, and the time of day, we opted to begin descending. We would have made the base before dark however while building the v-thread above the steep pitch, I'd put my tools down. Turns out they were almost lost in the facets and I didn't notice till after rapping. I had to jug up the ropes to get them and it was dark when we returned to the packs. The walk out in the dark and the wind, back down the Claw Creek stumblefest was miserable. Don't forget your tools haha.

Malignant Mushroom Driving conditions to the North Ghost were challenging. After several tows out of drifts and much shoveling we turned around and went to the South Ghost. As we left the off-road crew arrived and plowed the trails so access is better now. The drive in to the south was uneventful. -19C at the car in Devil's Gap at 1030am. We broke trail to The climb. With full sun at the climb it was quite warm and water was flowing freely down the left side of the climb. The Ice was highly featured with petals and chandeliers and few small roofs. Lots of digging and smashing through chandeliers and snice to get good screws. Have fun.

Very hard crust on top of 15 cm if facets

Wx: Temps hovered around just below 0C all day. There was significant wind in the valley below the climb & at the climb itself. If you ascend the shoulder to the right of the climb there is minimal avy hazard as this shoulder is completely windswept. This route was our approach to the climb. Although the top outs on both pitches are thin, there is more than enough ice to climb comfortably (& protect). There is no suitable belay anchor at the top of pitch 1 so we established an anchor at the base of P2 & extended it back to just above the top of P1 (There is an anchor left of the top of P1 but the stance is on rock & is more designed as a rap anchor as opposed to a belay anchor. P1 goes at +3/4. *P2 is a full 60m pitch, at a grade of 5. We climbed right of center, on great ice, great pro. There is an anchor at the top of P2, 25' above the ice on the left hand wall. Just goes to show how fat this route can get. We utilized an existing V thread as part of our anchor & rapped on this V thread. We descended the gully under the climb to reach the valley below. Given the faceted nature of the snow, I would not recommend this as an approach trail. The snow on the cut line is supportive, only if you follow previous footsteps.

Few bits I found interesting in the North Ghost generally from four recent rips in there: -Overall ice conditions are good, but surprisingly wet on many routes due to the recent warm temps -Generally the above treeline snowpack is really windblown to bare and not a major concern, but there were a lot of pockets of windslab that were very reactive down low in the gullies, as well as some extensive whumpfing. I would be concerned if getting out onto the bigger snow patches/sides of gullies, mid-route pockets, or with new snow/wind loading. -The warm spell didn't really "fix" the facet disaster as much I hoped it would. Still all the facets you ever wanted in the Ghost. HS in the valleys ranges greatly but about 20cms in the trees, deeper deposition zones. -This House of Sky has some terrain traps, especially near the start, that have some bigger than I expected slab debris in them. Chilkoot was less exposed than I was expecting, but same terrain traps there too if you go past Chilkoot toward Haines (and some neat small ice features up there too). Thin rain crust in some areas too. The Ghost is generally lower avalanche hazard, except when it isn't... -You can still drive across a well-frozen bridge about 150M below the Wully crossing, which is an ice ledge disaster zone. The ledges go with 33" studded tires or full send mode below that, but metal has been bent there recently. Trapper's Hill is icy. Fine with studs or chains, but a lot of sports action there lately too. -There's a truck-eating rock on the short, steep climb out after the last river crossing before Claw Creek (back end). This rock has bitten three trucks I know of know, you climb up onto it then get yeeted sideways on the slick ice, boom. Krave is good at welding bits back together. There's a bypass about 50M up the creekbed, OK in a double cab long box Tacoma on 33s but skid plates nice. Happy New Year!

We attempted the North Ghost access, but without another car for supportive, snow drifts encountered, and strong winds likely forming more drifts throughout the day, we opted for the South Ghost. Nothing notable to report for the drive into the South. On the approach to Wicked Wanda, we experienced a whumpf and shooting cracks and walked through punchy wind affect snow and/or unsupported facets. The ice on Wicked Wanda was very solid and took numerous swings to get a good stick. P2 felt stiff for the grade and had a few interesting pedal formations growing near the top of the climb. We then approached Malignant Mushroom and the right side was dripping wet. We decided not to climb it due to the time of day and wet spray being blown around by the wind. Between -3 and -6 degrees C today.

First pitch on Beowulf is pretty wet, particularly near the top. Makes for tricky abalakov construction in slushy ice. Lots of snow in the drainage above P1. Rest of the route climbs well. Interesting mix of hard and soft ice at the moment. *** driving conditions *** some drifting from strong winds today but all drifted areas had a track broken through as of late afternoon. River crossings reasonable. Trickiest crossing was the one just before GBU. New snow and colder temps gave good traction on the TA road.

**Driving: TA road icy in places. Drifting halfway in and Stumpland can be bypassed but high clearance vehicle needed. It was probably the relatively warm temps but the drifted sections seemed more boggy as we left at dusk. That was the case for both the TA rd and valley bottom. **Ice: In good condition, nice swings with fairly minimal dinner plating and not too brittle. A fair accumulation of windblown snow at the base of steps reducing the amount of actual ice to climb. **Anchors: THOS is pretty well equipped with bolted stations. However a few are getting buried. Despite being chest height early season, I had to dig around a metre down for one or two so look for the obvious signs of trenched holes. **Walk off: well marked now. A couple different colours have been used by people this season. Quick note; firefighters used orange tape near the start of the approach trail for the fall 2020 fire. Mostly this is away from the descent route so not too much of an issue. We added about 25 reflective markers to the several previously left. Some have an additional reflective white arrow as a directional indicator. There is no actual "trail" but now the walk off bushwhack is also clear of the worst of the bush and logs. There are plans to improve the final link back to the approach trail but we ran out of time.

Climbed Hydro yesterday, was a first for me so I can't compare with previous seasons. Weather was cloudy with wind gusts. Temps around 0c. We climbed the route in 3 pitches & found the entire route sustained. Not +5, but definitely not 4. Good pro was easy to find. There's a 2 bolt station at the base of the route 'proper' that could do with an upgrade. The bolts are pretty rusty & one hanger spins. The trail in is quite defined.

Went into the Waiparous to climb Kemosabe Jan 31st. This MIN is a reminder to be mindful re. climbing the first pitch of Kemosabe when new is falling and the wind is at least noticeable or forecasted to be gusting in the 40 km/h range. When leading the 1st pitch and just below topping out into the what is considered a small bowl, and simple terrain below the second pitch, I got hit with 3 sizeable spindrifts;the 3rd being sizeable enough to cover me, and also prolonged/ forceful enough to nearly push me off the ice. The position I was in - right below the narrow point in the notch - likely contributed here to increase the impact of the 3rd sluff but it was nearly a very bad day. Conclusion - do not recommend climbing this pitch during times of combined snowfall/wind. The wind up in that bowl moves snow around both off the bowl slopes and the sidewalls and funnels it more significantly than you may appreciate from the ground or be able to see.

**Driving has its challenges. TransAlta road a little slippery in the morning but better grip leaving. Watch for morning sliding. Around the 10km mark on the TA rd has fairly deep drifting but a bypass on the right is easier. Stumpland bypass is advisable as you get further in too. Valley bottom also has drifted sections and the Ice Maze starts shortly after #37 for Blackrock. Wully Crossing is easy if you use the downstream ice bridge but has big ice shelves on the upstream side. #39 is normal. #40 needs a careful look before picking your line. **GBU area in good shape. Hero swings. Not sure on screw quality on the left side. One of our group tried the mixed line DSB but found the ice transition had soaking wet ice on his right and big unstable ice on his left so he opted to bail. **Indifferent is good climbing but tricky. The crux in the middle has soaking wet ice and is largely unconsolidated without smashing away the nee ice which would leave you trying to climb in a shower regretting you dont have a good waterproof layer. That leaves you using a skinny pillar on the left. Poor or no pro for the crux but good screws both before and after. NOTE: there is no good fixed anchor at the top. The old mank single bolt and the pin has had the tat removed from it. Perhaps there is a better anchor buried in the ice. The cave is low and I left a v-thread. **Angel Eyes doesnt look inviting. Lower ice looks sun affected, above that is a gap, and the upper ice looks like a thin curtain.

Point observation from the park boundary trailhead. Did not climb due to temperatures and lack of direct sun.

Did the first pitch of WW which climbed nicely. Party ahead of us did both pitches and said the second felt more like solid WI5. Malignant Mushroom looked formed from across the way, although not terribly fat.

Snowpack highly variable HS 1-60cm Pockets of wind affected, crust and powder snow Hand sheers in wind affected pockets produced easy non-planar (BRK) from 2-10cm down on to crust or powder snow.

**Driving was reasonable. **Ice was a little lean in places. No open pools. Mostly dry ice. **The avi slopes on the left a third of the way up the canyon were holding some snow in places but the steeper slopes had sluffed off. Spindrift accumulations at the base of most steps still minimal. ** The CMC descent has a bootpack trail from 7 people today but watch for the occasional spur where we were looking for the best way down. New blowdown made routefinding a little tricky and we did a little saw work in occasional spots. Handline is still good. The final steep slope before reaching the approach trail had a whole bunch of new blowdown on the easier draw forcing a reroute that has some slippery slopes. I pinned several red reflective squares on trees to help identify the walk off but the old pink flgging tape is pretty faded and hard to spot at times. **There were a few spots on the descent where a hard crust was very noticeable. The crust was 2-3cm thick with 5-10cm of snow over it. It was hard to boot punch through making some slopes a boot slide.

**Driving was reasonable. **Ice was a little lean in places. No open pools. Mostly dry ice. **The avi slopes on the left a third of the way up the canyon were holding some snow in places but the steeper slopes had sluffed off. Spindrift accumulations at the base of most steps still minimal. ** The CMC descent has a bootpack trail from 7 people today but watch for the occasional spur where we were looking for the best way down. New blowdown made routefinding a little tricky and we did a little saw work in occasional spots. Handline is still good. The final steep slope before reaching the approach trail had a whole bunch of new blowdown on the easier draw forcing a reroute that has some slippery slopes. I pinned several red reflective squares on trees to help identify the walk off but the old pink flgging tape is pretty faded and hard to spot at times. **There were a few spots on the descent where a hard crust was very noticeable. The crust was 2-3cm thick with 5-10cm of snow over it. It was hard to boot punch through making some slopes a boot slide.

HS more than usual in this region. At TL sheltered locations top 20cm is low density powder sitting on a hard rain crust that supports walking. Soft slabs up to thigh deep in lee wind affected areas. CSM hardly any ice. Hidden dragon looks thin. Joker climbs well.

** The valley bottom is nearly clear of snow while the mountains have a dusting. Isolated pockets exist but of the ones we travelled by/through, they seemed stable. More snow incoming may change that. ** Approach trail in mostly good shape. Some icy patches but mostly snow free. ** Approach ice possibly climbable but wet so we used the bypass given our late start. ** Hidden Dragon is coming along but will be better with another week and some colder temps. ** Candlestick Maker both pitches are hanging daggers so quite some time needed yet. ** Hookers upper pitches look to be filling out but zero ice on the first pitch. ** Joker is in great shape. Mostly used 10 & 13 but 16s good in spots. Ice was in softer user friendly shape with good easy sticks and very little dinner plating. ** Big Drip is looking quite filled out up high but neither the upper or lower ice has touched down yet.

This report is for two avalanches we witnessed while climbing Aquarious which I believe occured in the bowl which contains The Joker and other climbs. For those contemplating Fearful Symmetry or Rainbow Serpent; Fearful Symmetry has fallen down and Rainbow Serpent has not formed. Aquarious climbed well, the upper section was thin with some mixed steps, the approach ice was fat and fun. Driving conditions to South Ghost were straightforward.

Drive: Tracks were getting drifted in fairly quickly but not really filled so it was possible to chew through it. Wully crossing was bridged going in but coming out the east side had collapsed and was open water. 39 and 40 were open but had quite large ice shelves. Climb: Lower pitches were dry and brittle. First pitch was steep on the right and had more rests on the left. Screws all seemed decent. Some dinner plating and fracturing. Middle rambles were dry climbing but had some wet sections on the walk. Final pitches were also dry but brittle. The very upper part looked chandeliered and wet and one of our party wasn't feeling well so we skipped it. Hazard: Boobytraps at the edge of ice to snow. Three places had flat ice changing to steeper ice, becoming snow. As it changes to snow it seems to be holding back open water hidden by the snow. I stepped to below the knee on one, and mid thigh on another. Fortunately the latter was as leaving and immediately downstream from the last pitch because it filled my boot. One of our party ventured a little further up the canyon in the direction of the punchbowl and broke some sort of dam resulting in a mini tsunami surge. No open pools on the climb today however.

Ice: Coming along from its anemic state a month ago although still not great. GBU Right looks heavily chandeliered and hard to protect, also steep. GBU Left is reasonable and a lead up the righthand side provided enough decent screws both 13 and 16's. The lefthand side looked a little more tricky to protect on the steeper part down low but provided some nice hooky swings. Over in the corner Indifferent looked under developed for this time of the season. One of our party started to lead it but had a change of mind. It did look a little better ice as you go higher. Driving: Very high winds made for a lot of snow transport. Tracks were drifting in quickly. Very well equipped vehicles with lots of clearance, recovery gear, and a tag team is suggested right now. Avi: While GBU has little avi hazard, I did note the bowls above Orient Point/RBD have largely been scoured clean. I would imagine other areas would also have similar transport and potential wind slab issues.

50-55cm of snow fell over 24hours Temperature dropped from -5/-8 too -25 on the night of the 21st. Moderate winds on the 22nd + 23rd. Spin drifts were noted. Tracks are in to the GBU parking but driving conditions are challenging. We drove a stock Tacoma and made it out. Lots of snow on the approach to Beuwulf and Valley of the Birds. Up to knee height in most places and shoulder height in others. Fang and Fist + The Sorcerer were in good condition.

Climb was in good condition, although fairly brittle. Approach ice is in with no open pools. Drive was mostly mellow, ice shelves are starting to grow. Day was very windy and varied between 0 and 5 degrees.

Climb seemed stable, though not very thick. Some gonging sounds at various points, and brittle ice but overall in much better shape than we expected. A bit sun affected at the top. Hardly any snow in the valley. Ice is grey from ash. Great valley to get away from the wind.

A few good looking lines on this climb. Ice was very brittle today, but more volume than expected. Plenty of fallen trees and branches in the gully, a saw could be useful to clear one in particular (photo 2). Hardly any snow in the Valley of the Birds.

Fang and Fist in great shape after the cold temps, mostly dry except for the very top. Had the pillars settle on us twice with a very loud crack! They are so fat we weren’t concerned. Snow levels below threshold and drive in was super easy with a 4wd

10 cm of fresh snow, road was still in great condition. Ice was plastic, a bit mushy in some spots. Entire climb was very wet, particularly left side of first and second pillars. Day was between 0 and -5 degrees.

We ice climb THOS and climb the ice above in the Bowl and climb all the way to the top ridge! We had great ice condition( wet on lower half, the upper was dryer) There was some snow above in the bowl in scattered areas, firm enough to travel on top!

Climbed Wicked Wanda today. Grade is well into WI5 this season with a number of funky cave roof pulls & steep sustained brittle ice on P2. Driving was uninvolved, no drifts formed on TA yet. Bring your goretex !

Cold and windy valley bottom around 9.45am. Calm winds walking up the cut line and through trees. Winds and spindrift increased early afternoon. Huge wind transport observed up high.

Climbed Hidden Dragon and Candlestick Maker in Orient Point. Broke trail through unsupportive powder the whole way, waist deep in sections. Slopes above CSM have had numerous small slides recently. Cornice formed high on the ridge.

Climbed the sorcerer today. Punched a fatiguing trail through multiple unsupportive crusts & facets for hours. Climb is in good shape albeit brittle & snicey at parts. Bolts had to be excavated in the cave.

Climbed Beowulf and walked through a lot of wind drifted snow in the canyon. Snow was crusty and hard, but supportive enough to climb without sliding.

Intense snow transport on ridge tops all day. Strong to extreme winds in the valley bottom all day. Snow drifts are building in the valley bottom. Snow is depositing on E and NE faces above Wicked Wanda and Weathering Heights.

Next to no snow along the route. Walk off is dry. Great conditions along the climb!