Emmons Route Report: June 3

(Compare this Emmons report to this grizzly Liberty Ridge route report from Mid-May...this is a route John is interested in--not for Rob and Bob!)

The trail from White river campground to glacier basin has patchy snow coverage until your about 1/2 mile past Sherwood forest then it becomes consistent snow all the way to the glacier. There was a slide this winter that may provide some route finding issues before you enter Sherwood forest. If you follow the yellow caution flagging to this slide, continue straight across climbing through some of the debris you will soon find the trail into the forest. The route from camp Curtis to Schurman is very straight forward, but crevasse hazard still exists.

After the road to White River campground opened last Friday,> many people came up to take advantage of the warm sunny weather. There were a good number of parties up also trying to make the first ascent of the Emmons in 2008... .One party over the weekend reached a high point of 14,000 until one of their members took a crevasse fall and they decided to turn around, thankfully the climber was uninjured.

The route from Schurman is mostly in early season conditions. There is a large crevasse climbers will have to negotiate at the top of the corridor. From that point the route continues right onto a nice open slope, around another set of crevasses, continuing to the right crossing the bergschrund and finally toward the summit. Most parties have not had trouble ascending the route but seem to become confused in their descent, winding up in places they would rather not be. Wands could be helpful in route finding but remember to remove all the wands you place. Stay tuned for further info and photos to arrive soon. Rangers climbed to 13,000 on Thursday the 29th, conditions were unconsolidated powder with little to no crust. As the mountain warms up things will start to consolidate, until then expect post holing conditions. On the upside the skiing is fabulous on the Emmons.

(Source)