Ingraham Direct Conditions 5/13/23

Spring has sprung and summer is making it's approach well known. After our first big warm up just over a week and a half ago, a second heat wave hit the mountain this past weekend. With the seasons, the mountain is changing quite quickly. Cracks that were just starting to show on our last patrol just under two weeks ago are now opening up and making for thoughtful crossings and navigation on the upper mountain. 

While there is an established route marked with wands, it is particularly important to evaluate snow bridges on a case by case basis as you come upon them. Just because the bridge held for someone else yesterday, or even earlier in the day, does not mean that it will hold for you! This same principle even applies when you are descending a route you climbed earlier in the day, and re-crossing the same bridge. Smart travel considerations mean navigating the glacier for yourself, approaching lips and bridges with caution, and if there is any doubt about it's stability: using a belay. Timing is everything: planning ahead to get up and down the mountain before warm ups lead to more snow bridge instability is going to be the key. We are seeing avalanche activity across the mountain, temperatures will continues to rise as the mountain moves towards summer. Along with avalanches you could encounter increased rockfall hazard during peak warming. Situational awareness of objective overhead hazard for breaks and pauses while climbing is important to making it up and down the mountain safely.

While temperatures remain warm and island-y the mountain is still a mountain. Saturday the Camp Muir weather station experienced gusts close to 80mph. These winds can destroy even the sturdiest of tents, or worse yet will pick your tent up and blow it down the mountain. There's nothing worse than coming back to Camp Muir from a climb to see your tent blowing down the Cowlitz Glacier! If extreme winds are expected consider breaking down your tents and setting blocks of snow on-top while you are away from it during your climb. Additionally, even given warm temperatures - strong winds will also deliver strong windchill and proper preparedness is still of paramount importance. Snow surfaces can be icy and slick even in warmer temperatures due to wind cooling as well.

The Ingraham had a handful of notable crevasse crossings on our ascent in the 11,400'-11,800' zone, all of which opened up considerably since our last patrol and during the day while we were climbing in the heat. For reference, the most notable crack on the route required quite the large step across that will be getting progressively larger. Make sure to inspect undercut snow lips when attempting to cross cracks.