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| The view up-mountain from Ingraham Flats. NPS photo |
Winter-like conditions persisted through the last week of April 2019. The upper mountain received more than a foot of snow on the 28th and again on the 29th.
The new snow came in as low-density powder with very little wind. That made for tough trail breaking and, for a short period, ideal powder snow conditions. Wind quickly moved in however and consolidated the new snow. This also resulted in an elevated avalanche danger that kept the guides and rangers from attempting the summit.
On May 1 an intrepid group of three independent climbers broke trail, found a route up the ID and made it to the summit in cold and windy conditions. Congratulations to those hearty climbers.
The guides are just starting their seasonal operations and so there is no established route as of yet, but they will start pushing one up the ID in the next several days.
The weather looks fairly good through the forecast period so we are expecting a busy weekend on the mountain. Keep in mind that avalanche and snow surface conditions will be changing rapidly as the upper mountain transitions from winter to spring. Please use caution when climbing and be prepared to assess the avalanche danger and climbing conditions for your team.
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| Climbing Rangers descend from Ingraham Flats. NPS photo |
