Canadian Alpine routes?
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Leaving for Canada (Alberta & B.C Rockies) in a couple weeks for a 3 week trip. Might try and hit the Northern Cascades on the way back too. Focused mainly on easy-moderate (5.9 or less) alpine routes. We went a couple years ago and got a lot of things done. Looking at things like Athabasca, Mount Assiniboine, and Slesse for this trip. Any solid recommendations? Good poor weather/rest day climbs? |
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Assiniboine was recently evacuated due to forest fire concerns, so I'd check in on that status before trudging all the way in there. |
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Any update on wildfire closures? Whats a good resource to find this, and other conditions? Thanks guys |
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For routes, I've used Dougherty's guide as my dream book. Then be flexible. When you get up there, plan on a morning or more to talk with climbing shops, rangers, etc. about specific snow, ice conditions and be prepared to accommodate current conditions. The rock on Mount Louis is better than average for the Rockies and Homage to the Spider is a fun day. The Grassi ridge on Wiwaxi is another. Neither involve snow/ice. |
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Any National Park website will have a list of closures - much of Waterton's backcountry has been closed as a preventative measure, but those same effects have yet to be applied to Banff, Jasper, or Yoho. On provincial Crown land, it can be a little more difficult. Best to start with the provincial Wildfire Status pages (BC and AB operate separate pages). Generally speaking most of the alpine rock routes are dry, the firn line is rapidly rising, but bridging and snow conditions continue to be relatively good. You can check https://www.mountainconditions.com/ for weekly regional conditions updates (generally issues on Friday), as well as the occasional conditions update for specific areas. Parks Mountain Safety's Facebook page has a lot of aerial photos of common routes every few weeks which can be very informative. |
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The Book of Lies (Select Alpine Climbs in the Canadian Rockies) is out of print and should always be taken with a grain of salt - Rockies Central by Jones is the better guidebook if you're looking for alpine routes at this point. SE Face of Diadem peak is a fun route though you might want a colder day. |