St. Mary's Glacier
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- snowymountainsrock
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St. Mary's Glacier
Hello, I am interested in practicing ice axe arrest at St. Mary's glacier to get some experience for future snow climbs and was wondering what the conditions were for the trail to the glacier, the glacier itself and if crampons would be good to bring.
Thanks
Thanks
- Moraine14
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Re: St. Mary's Glacier
Sorry, no clue about current conditions on the "glacier" itself...but I did ice axe practice in May and the approach trail was dry - no crampons/traction needed.
- somethingrandom
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Re: St. Mary's Glacier
My last time was a few weeks ago so take it for what you will:snowymountainsrock wrote:Hello, I am interested in practicing ice axe arrest at St. Mary's glacier to get some experience for future snow climbs and was wondering what the conditions were for the trail to the glacier, the glacier itself and if crampons would be good to bring.
Thanks
-Trail to glacier, snow free.
--Glacier itself, typical (albeit worse than normal) mid-summer ruts, dings, and dents (some of which more than a foot deep)
---Crampons depend on what you are climbing. If you are staying to the right (North) side of the glacier, crampons are rarely required, generally the farther left you go, the steeper, and probably the only moderately decent 'climbing' on the glacier right now, and in no way shape or form a good place to 'learn' self-arrest, you need to know it there!
Probably not what you wanted to hear but thats my opinion of it right now.
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-Whether climbing or flying, the single greatest thing to remember is that every ascent is optional, and if you feel like making another, your subsequent descent is mandatory.
-To Cessna: "November one, zero, four Lima Papa, wind 080 at 90 peak gusts 120, runway 35 cleared for takeoff"
To fellow controller: "Watch this sh!t"
-Whether climbing or flying, the single greatest thing to remember is that every ascent is optional, and if you feel like making another, your subsequent descent is mandatory.
- jaymz
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Re: St. Mary's Glacier
I was up there about a month ago, and the approach was bone dry. Like somethingrandom said, the snow is pretty crappy right now. I was able to do a little glissading - about 100 feet worth, and it's much softer and more forgiving than it initially looks with all the ruts. I didn't get very far up the glacier, but you don't really need to if you just want to do some rudimentary glissading... at least that was the case when I was up there. If you do go, just be sure to stay on the climber's right, as was mentioned.
- snowymountainsrock
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Re: St. Mary's Glacier
Does the time of day matter? Would going really early make for better practice?
Thanks
Thanks
- snowymountainsrock
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Re: St. Mary's Glacier
Is the glacier skiable with the current conditions?
- bergsteigen
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Re: St. Mary's Glacier
I skied it July 8. It's very dirty, but you "can" ski it.
http://otinasadventures.com/index.php?t ... ys_glacier
http://otinasadventures.com/index.php?t ... ys_glacier
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- ajkagy
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Re: St. Mary's Glacier
with all the warm weather and low snow this year i would think it's just a matter of time before it disappears during the summer...doesn't look too bad right now at least.
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- snowymountainsrock
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Re: St. Mary's Glacier
Do you think it will be alright in very early August?ajkagy wrote:with all the warm weather and low snow this year i would think it's just a matter of time before it disappears during the summer...doesn't look too bad right now at least.
- ajkagy
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Re: St. Mary's Glacier
it will be alright in August, although it will be interesting to see what it looks like by late Sept before major snow comes.snowymountainsrock wrote:Do you think it will be alright in very early August?ajkagy wrote:with all the warm weather and low snow this year i would think it's just a matter of time before it disappears during the summer...doesn't look too bad right now at least.
http://wanderingthemountains.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
- snowymountainsrock
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Re: St. Mary's Glacier
Alright,
Thanks for all your input.
Thanks for all your input.
- snowymountainsrock
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Re: St. Mary's Glacier
Sorry, but I have one more question. Would you recomend bringing a helmet?