Many parties had successful summits in July; reporting mostly good cramponing conditions and an established bootpack to help navigate around crevasses.
Snowbridges that the main bootpack crossed were starting to weaken with the heat over the weekend and new areas to cross may need to be found. In the alpine meadow zone (around 12,000 to 13,400 feet) very firm cramponing and slick surfaces exist. Many independent parties were looking to ski from the summit. Many did not due to firm, icy, and variable snow conditions near the summit. There are also several large crevasses to avoid.
Glacier Basin trail to Camp Schurman is losing snow quickly. Patchy snow exists starting at around 5500 feet. Consistent snow starts at Glacier Basin. Some small crevasses are starting to open up on the lower Inter Glacier. Staying roped up isn't the worst idea on the Inter Glacier - crevasse falls are possible!
It's definitely prime time for climbing the Emmons/Winthrop Glacier route. As the weather patterns stabilize and the glacier starts to break apart more, this route historically goes "out for the season" sometime in the beginning of August. Hope to see you up on the eastside soon!
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| The route on the Emmons/Winthrop to the summit |
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| Looking up the Inter Glacier from Glacier Basin |
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| Looking down valley from Glacier Basin |
