Crazy how much conditions, especially on the shrunken glacier, have changed since I did that summit back in the early eighties. We pretty much walked up the glacier on looker's right all of the way to the summit.
Uhh, have you never travelled on a glacier before? Few if any I have been on with 30 years of mountaineering behind me "do not" have crevasses. You were fortunate that you were there later in the year as the snow pack was melted enough that what crevasses you encountered were exposed. With a 60 meter rope descending the gully would have been much more pleasant, there were numerous anchors of prussik cord, webbing (which I rarely trust), I use my own, but they do give you a visual clue as to where you could place yours if you had some. You did well in a very sketchy gulley ascending, descending, considering the amount of loose rock. I would recommend taking a mountaineering course through a reputable school like Yamnuska, it will improve your skills, your enjoyment.
Thanks for the advice. Yes, I have been on glaciers, both dry and covered. I do generally avoid glaciated ascents as I do not have touring skis to distribute the weight better than with just snowshoes. Joffre was just a surprise in terms of number of crevasses as all the reports and photos that I had seen did not given me the impression of the quantity of crevasses. I should have definitely expected more due to the angle of the slope - it’s not like Haig…. I suppose that I was surprised as I expected the stresses and buckling to be farther to climber’s right. Cheers.
looked like fun - when I do it it'll definitely be with skis to speed things up on the down ... tks for the awesome beta!
Nicely done. You guys are summits machines.
Thanks Alan!
Crazy how much conditions, especially on the shrunken glacier, have changed since I did that summit back in the early eighties. We pretty much walked up the glacier on looker's right all of the way to the summit.
I wonder what shape it will be in another 40 years! … maybe it will only be accessible via the gully system.
Nice
Nice work. Nothing wrong with being on a glacier unroped in those conditions either in my opinion
Thanks for your feedback John!
Uhh, have you never travelled on a glacier before? Few if any I have been on with 30 years of mountaineering behind me "do not" have crevasses. You were fortunate that you were there later in the year as the snow pack was melted enough that what crevasses you encountered were exposed. With a 60 meter rope descending the gully would have been much more pleasant, there were numerous anchors of prussik cord, webbing (which I rarely trust), I use my own, but they do give you a visual clue as to where you could place yours if you had some. You did well in a very sketchy gulley ascending, descending, considering the amount of loose rock. I would recommend taking a mountaineering course through a reputable school like Yamnuska, it will improve your skills, your enjoyment.
Thanks for the advice. Yes, I have been on glaciers, both dry and covered. I do generally avoid glaciated ascents as I do not have touring skis to distribute the weight better than with just snowshoes.
Joffre was just a surprise in terms of number of crevasses as all the reports and photos that I had seen did not given me the impression of the quantity of crevasses. I should have definitely expected more due to the angle of the slope - it’s not like Haig…. I suppose that I was surprised as I expected the stresses and buckling to be farther to climber’s right.
Cheers.