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Hi spers !

anyone did the north face of athabasca this season ? how looked the crux section (the mixed part...) ? i've been told the 5.4 (m2) grade is totaly sandbag now due to change of the ice condition in the last years. Was it as hard as the ''serious 5.9'' described by blanchard in 2008 ? Is the gully exit still worth going or is it now a sketchy, poorly protected mix pitch ? Im planning a trip for next season (i know it is far from now and everything can change in the alpine...) and i was just wondering if i should stil include this route on my schedule. does the north ridge exit still makes it an interesting climb ? any info would help !!

thanks
climb safe !!

FortMental wrote:Serious 5.9? Really....

I thought everything in the Canadian Rockies was 5.9, A2

I did it in 2008, and talked to Barry about it this past summer. It's not getting any easier. Conditions can vary wildly, but definitely expect it to be more challenging than 5.4, and probably harder than 5.7. The hourglass exit is also an option under the right conditions. BTW, in 2008 it wasn't bare rock, but the ice was thin. Another party took a loooong time to get past it. We took Barry's suggested bypass on the left, which was much harder. He says he'll scratch that from his list of recommendations...