Does anyone here know the current conditions for Mt. Abbot? I'm considering doing the Northeast Couloir route sometime in the next few weeks.

Any info would be much appreciated.

As of Saturday 8/6 it was nearly entirely suncupped snow above Ruby Lake. Knife-edge is clear of snow. Carried pons and axe, and happily used both.

96avs01 wrote:As of Saturday 8/6 it was nearly entirely suncupped snow above Ruby Lake. Knife-edge is clear of snow. Carried pons and axe, and happily used both.

Hey, thanks for kicking in those steps. We used them on Sunday 8/7. As we carried only axes and no crampons the steps actually helped.
I think in a week or two crampons will be mandatory in the couloir.
You can avoid some of the snow above Ruby lake, if you prefer. There is a large section around Mills lake that is melted out and has a semblance of a trail. Snow would be a better way to go in most other places, unless you are a big fan of talus.
Ideal conditions on Abbot overall. You could not ask for anything better than it is right now.

The road is open to Mosquito Flat.

The trail is clear of snow to Ruby Lake, mostly snow from there on.

If you're there early in the morning it will be firm and good traveling. It's pretty soft in the afternoon. The couloir itself looks great right now. Still a few patches on the East Face where you exit the couloir, you'll probably be postholing through those, but it's not to bad. The upper face to the summit still has snow also.
I may go up there in the next day or two, if I do I'll post a recent picture

Any updates on the snow conditions in the area?
We'll be doing Hourglass on Dade this Sunday.
Thanks!

3Deserts wrote:These are a couple of weeks old now, but here's what I found:

snow-climbs-late-may-t61744.html#p876676

Great photos!
Did you need snowshoes or crampons?
Thanks,
Vlad