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Association of Canadian Mountain Guides

The ACMG is a professional association of trained and certified Mountain Guides, Hiking Guides, and Climbing Instructors.
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As a group, the ACMG presents a strong voice for high standards of alpine risk management and the professionalism of mountain guiding in Canada. It is an organization grounded in powerful tradition, yet agile enough to remain current in an ever-changing arena. As individuals, our members are highly talented, dedicated professionals who are committed to providing safe and exciting mountain adventur

es as well as indoor and outdoor climbing instruction to all members of the public. Blending physical skill and toughness with excellent judgement and compassion, our members are highly regarded throughout the world as among the best in their respective disciplines.

06/30/2025

Bow Valley and Columbia Icefields

Mike Adolph - Sunday, June 29, 2025 - 06:30

Weather: The course started at the tail end of a storm which brought colder temperatures and significant precipitation to the Rocky Mountains. The eastern zone of the area (Kananaskis) received the most snow. The snow line started out around 2000m and gradually increased through out the week. The rest of the course had unsettled weather throughout the week with occasional precipitation and day time freezing levels around 3000m.

Routes climbed: Bow Valley: Buller Buttess #1 up to half way, South Ridge of Mt. Norquay, Eisenhower Tower up to two pitches above the Dragons Back, ESE Ridge of Lady MacDonald. Columbia Icefields: A2, Athabasca North Glacier to North Ridge Circuit, descent via Ledges, Silverhorn (up to 3300 m).

Bow Valley Conditions: On June 20-21, heavy precip with snowline at 1400-1500m deposited up to 40 cm on Bow Valley objectives with the deeper amounts on the east side of the range and snow remained on some objectives through the afternoon of June 24. The snow limited route options and variations on some objectives, confining travel onto ridge features and making approaches and descents slippery and treacherous.

Columbia Icefields Conditions: We found isothermal snow up to 2800 m with 50+ cm foot pen and challenging travel conditions, especially where snowpack was less than 100 cm deep. Snowpack above 2800 m remained generally facetted and weak, but was found to be 100 cm and up to 230+ cm in places on glaciers. Several small spontaneous Na rockfalls off N ridge of Athabasca on June 28, possible due to frost jacking after overnight freeze.

We rated the avalanche hazard in the alpine as low between June 25-28th with increased hazard with daytime warming. Our main concern was loose wet avalanches as we did not get good overnight recovery. No new avalanches were observed.

Above 2900m there was a winter snowpack. On the Silverhorn there was 40-50cm over the ice. This consisted on 5-15cm of new snow overlaying a 2 crust sandwich, the first crust being a 3cm pencil crust. Below the crust sandwich was 15cm of 1-2mm rounding facets. We were not getting any results with hand shears. No cracking was observed when boot packing. Glaciers are transitioning to summer, with some weak bridges and lots of visible sagging. Rock was loose, as to be expected in the Rockies.

Safe travels everyone!

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Weather: The course started at the tail end of a storm which brought colder temperatures and significant precipitation to the Rocky Mountains. The eastern zone of the area (Kananaskis) received the most snow. The snow line started out around 2000m and gradually increased through out the week. The re...

06/27/2025

Skyladder, Mount Andromeda

Ian Welsted - Thursday, June 26, 2025 - 06:45

Climbed a snowy variation to Skyladder yesterday. As compared to recent past seasons, the face is plastered with a solid rain affected snowpack, providing many route variation possibilities. To avoid the biggest snow slopes we linked together small gullies and snow patches to the left of the standard route slopes. The biggest snow pitch at the top of the face we crossed on cornice fall avalanche debris which provided good travel. The upper snow ridge to the summit wasn't as easy, with boot top breakable crust.

The AA col was easily descended by down climbing to the bergschrund rappel.

Take your pitons in order to protect the climbing line in the shattered rock outcrops.

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Climbed a snowy variation to Skyladder yesterday. As compared to recent past seasons, the face is plastered with a solid rain affected snowpack, providing many route variation possibilities. To avoid the biggest snow slopes we linked together small gullies and snow patches to the left of the standar...

06/17/2025

Mt. Andromeda

Parks Canada - Tuesday, June 17, 2025 - 12:45

On June 17th 2025 we climbed the North Bowl route on Mt. Andromeda and descended the AA-col. We left the parking lot at 3:45am and despite a temperature of +6C we found excellent travel conditions.

We were glad to have knots in the rope on the north bowl glacier as there were several hidden crevasses under the snow.

We had excellent néve snow on the north bowl making the bergschrund crossings easy. Despite this, we belayed across them using mid-clip pickets.

We had good 1/4 boot steps in firm snow all the way up the north bowl until the last 40m ice pitch that took good screws.

We placed some pitons, replaced some webbing and left a few locking carabiners at a couple of the east ridge descent rappel stations. Remember to bring extra quick links and webbing with you if descend this way as several of the stations needed to be improved.

The bergschrund crossing on the Andromeda side of the AA-col required either traversing way-out to one side where it is still filled in or rappelling into the bergschrund on a new piton station and easily climbing out.

We brought avalanche gear (transceiver, shovel and probe) and saw one size 1 cornice fall around 11:00 down the middle earth routes on Mt. Andromeda. Several large cornices are still present at high elevations.

Attached are pictures of the route, surrounding routes and the descent.

Parks Canada Jasper Visitor Safety

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On June 17th 2025 we climbed the North Bowl route on Mt. Andromeda and descended the AA-col. We left the parking lot at 3:45am and despite a temperature of +6C we found excellent travel conditions. We were glad to have knots in the rope on the north bowl glacier as there were several hidden crevasse...

06/15/2025

Monarch area

Andrew Councell - Sunday, June 15, 2025 - 12:45

First flight over the Coast Range between Waddington and Bella Coola this morning, noted numerous deep slab avalanches to size 3. These were primarily E-NE aspects but possibly elsewhere as well. Age appeared all about the same, within the last week likely triggered by last weekend’s heat. Not many people in these areas these days but still interesting to reflect on winter’s layers and may affect decision making during big warmups in the near future. Photos for examples. Also a photo of Waddington’s Angel Glacier.

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First flight over the Coast Range between Waddington and Bella Coola this morning, noted numerous deep slab avalanches to size 3. These were primarily E-NE aspects but possibly elsewhere as well. Age appeared all about the same, within the last week likely triggered by last weekend’s heat. Not man...

06/14/2025

Lake O'Hara, Yoho

Larry Stanier - Saturday, June 14, 2025 - 08:30

Just finished 2 days at Lake O'Hara. It is about as snow free a world as I have seen for this time of year. Almost no snow below treeline but significant amounts primarily in lee slopes at TL and in the alpine. Certainly enough snow for big wet loose avalanches in the alpine with daytime warming, lots of cornices, lots of melt triggered rockfall and some tough walking without a freeze.

Some alpine climbing would be doable but you would need a good freeze, good timing and fast feet. The short nights and long potential thaw periods equal short windows for safe travel but a good freeze could be a good enabler?

Things will continue to change quickly but if you have access and hit the right conditions Wenkchemna to Opabin, Mt. Lefroy, Cathedral and maybe Glacier pk would be good right now. Grassi Ridge and the Wiwaxy towers would be snow free except for some patches maybe on the descents.

Happy Springing into Summer

Larry Stanier

ACMG Mountain Guide

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Just finished 2 days at Lake O'Hara. It is about as snow free a world as I have seen for this time of year. Almost no snow below treeline but significant amounts primarily in lee slopes at TL and in the alpine. Certainly enough snow for big wet loose avalanches in the alpine with daytime warming, lo...

06/09/2025

Kananaskis Front Ranges

Helen Sovdat - Monday, June 9, 2025 - 13:15

Here are some observations from the recent ACMG TAP Hiking Guide Exam June 2-7.

Over a period of 4 days, groups travelled between Bluerock Campsite in the Sheep River to Little Elbow Parking in the Elbow River. The route went via Mt Ware, Surveyor’s Ridge, Black Cow Hill, and Forgetmenot Ridge.

Weather conditions were a mix of sun and clouds, with some convective showers in the first 2 days, clearing through the trip. Temperatures varied from 0 degrees at night to 22 degrees on the warmest day. Winds were consistently light from the west, with some moderate to strong gusts.

We travelled on a combination of trails and off-trail terrain between 1600m- 2330m. Trails varied from well-defined hiking and horse trails to smaller wildlife trails and seismic lines. All trails were passable with no unexpected hazards. Off-trail travel was better on southwest aspects in more mature lodgepole forests. More challenging travel was found in the dense trees on northerly aspects.

Snow was almost completely melted except for the occasional small patch and all streams crossed were passable. These included Gorge Creek, Volcano Creek, Three Point Creek. The Elbow River was the deepest and was at mid-thigh level.

Hazards included bushwhacking, river crossings, loose rocky terrain, and wildlife. We saw many small critters (chipmunks, squirrels) and some noisy grouse. There were signs of black bear, sheep, moose, and deer. Several group members found ticks on them.

Highlights of the trip included incredible views at ridgetop along Surveyor’s Ridge and Forgetmenot Ridge. There were many wildflowers in bloom at all elevations.

Hiking Guide Candidates

Instructors:

Helen Sovdat (MG)

Sylvia Forest (MG)

Laura Newsome (HG, VFG)

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Here are some observations from the recent ACMG TAP Hiking Guide Exam June 2-7. Over a period of 4 days, groups travelled between Bluerock Campsite in the Sheep River to Little Elbow Parking in the Elbow River. The route went via Mt Ware, Surveyor’s Ridge, Black Cow Hill, and Forgetmenot Ridge. We...

06/07/2025

Mt Andromeda

Christian Schlumpf - Saturday, June 7, 2025 - 11:30

Just completed an ascent of the E ridge of mt Andromeda. At 4am, the temperature at the parking area (~2000m elevation) was +9 Celsius. Despite this, we found very good travel conditions on the AA glacier to the AA col with a thin but supportive freeze. The bergschrund was passable, but the bridges are thin and rapidly melting out. Bringing a few mid sized cams and nuts is advisable to help in building a solid belay above it. Travel up the E ridge was possible entirely on snow, but some sections are very thin and melting out. We were coming down the E ridge around 9:30 am and were happy to not be much later, as the snow was already quite soft from solar input and warming. Main concerns today were loose wet avalanches and rockfall, although we didn't observe either.

Overall, very good alpine climbing conditions with supportive and fast snow travel, despite the warm overnight temperatures!

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Just completed an ascent of the E ridge of mt Andromeda. At 4am, the temperature at the parking area (~2000m elevation) was +9 Celsius. Despite this, we found very good travel conditions on the AA glacier to the AA col with a thin but supportive freeze. The bergschrund was passable, but the bridges....

06/06/2025

Yexyexéscen (Mt Robson)

Alex Geary - Thursday, June 5, 2025 - 23:30

Marcus Waring and I got back today from a 4 day trip (June 2-5) attempting to ski Yexyexéscen (Mt Robson).

Approach

We approached via the Patterson Spur route to RR Col. We were able to skin from 1950m (see photo) until 2650m, then again for a couple of short sections above to the col. This approach is melting fast with already lots more rocks showing today than a few days ago (see photo).

The trail to Berg Lake is still closed.

Black Towers

The Black Towers are mostly a knife edge corniced snow ridge - sometimes ice or up to waist deep snow. The crux rock section is covered with snow and looked very difficult to climb and protect, so we retreated from there (see photo).

Mt Resplendent

Mt Resplendent had beautiful dry ankle deep powder skiing June 4th. (see photo)

RR col to the Kain Face

We were able to climb up to a campsite beneath the Kain Face via the climbers left of the Mouse Trap Icefall (see first photo). This was around 45 degrees with only about 5cm snow covering ice in places, so it could have been challenging to ski down.

Kain Face

We turned around at the upper bergschrund (3290m) of the Kain Face this morning due to fresh cross loaded windslabs up to 60cm deep from northerly winds.

Patterson Couloir

We skied down the Patterson Couloir early this morning. It had skiable dry snow above the first choke (see photo), then got progressively icier and more runnelled the further we descended. We eventually had to put our boot crampons on and down climb because there were frozen runnels up to 1m deep (see photo). This couloir has a lot of overhead hazard from the Dome that was shedding regularly during the day.

Summary

We’re currently in a transition period from winter to summer. Lower elevations felt like summer, but there is still dry snow in many places above 3000m. Enjoy the remainder of spring!

Alex Geary and Marcus Waring

ACMG Mountain Guides

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Marcus Waring and I got back today from a 4 day trip (June 2-5) attempting to ski Yexyexéscen (Mt Robson). Approach We approached via the Patterson Spur route to RR Col. We were able to skin from 1950m (see photo) until 2650m, then again for a couple of short sections above to the col. This approac...

06/05/2025

Mountain condition photos Bow Valley to Lake Louise

Parks Canada - Thursday, June 5, 2025 - 14:30

Here are a series of photos from a flight along the Bow Valley to Lake Louise showing the current alpine conditions on June 5, 2025.

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Here are a series of photos from a flight along the Bow Valley to Lake Louise showing the current alpine conditions on June 5, 2025.

06/02/2025

Yoho National Park

Parks Canada - Monday, June 2, 2025 - 11:45

Avalanche control work is scheduled for Tuesday, June 3, 2025, on Mt. Stephen in Yoho National Park. Mt Stephen is CLOSED to all activities for the day.

See the following link for more closure details: http://tinyurl.com/webpsp4d

Thanks for your cooperation,

Parks Canada Visitor Safety

Banff, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks

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Avalanche control work is scheduled for Tuesday, June 3, 2025, on Mt. Stephen in Yoho National Park. Mt Stephen is CLOSED to all activities for the day. See the following link for more closure details: http://tinyurl.com/webpsp4d Thanks for your cooperation, Parks Canada Visitor Safety Banff, Yoho a...

06/01/2025

Mount Macdonald NW Integral Route

Florina Beglinger - Saturday, May 31, 2025 - 11:00

Macdonald NW Integral

Approach: Herdman has full snow coverage down to 50m above the creek crossing, which makes for very fast travel to the base of the route, crampons made travel easier in the morning. There is a tree crossing just below the Howitzer station on the South side of the highway west of the snowshed, after crossing this we’d recommend staying level and walking the few hundred meters East to be in line with the Herdman before gaining elevation. Alternatively, there is a rope crossing in line with the Herdman just below the west side of the snowshed, which would require a harness (we didn’t use this).

Climbing Route: The route itself is snow-free and dry for the entirety of the climbing, which is on solid quartzite throughout. Stunning!

Promenade Ledge: we continued to the summit, but from what we could see, the ledge had some larger snow patches and looked like it would require some care to cross. However, all snow we encountered was either very soft or isothermic. Easily managed with some minor post-holing annoyances.

Summit Ridge Descent: was surprisingly snow-free where it counts. We utilized multiple rappels, as well as some glissading (again, very isothermal), and down-climbing.

Descent back to the road: 1100m of blissful boot skiing. We chose to descend the Banana Couloir, which had supportive, soft snow. The rest of the Herdman descent is quite the same; easy boot skiing/glissading until you reach the bottom end of the avalanche debris and have to walk a bit.

There are some cornices remaining above the Herdman Couloir.

In summary, a lot of type 1 fun was had. Conditions allowed for a 10.5 hour car-to-car day. Enjoy!

Florina Beglinger - SG, AAG

Tyler Jay - ASG, ARG

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Macdonald NW Integral

05/30/2025

Bow Hut

Sebastian Taborszky - Friday, May 30, 2025 - 14:00

I've just spent 2 nights at Bow Hut (May 28-30). There is still a lot of snow on the trail, starting at the 1st talus field half way up the canyon. Once out of the trees in the upper valley, it is possible to link snowless features to the back of the bowl. Deep postholing from there and across the creek towards the morraine. Snow bridges over the creek have collapsed and the creek is high. The summer trail up the morraine had too much deep snow, we stayed to the right, working a dry rib of horrible hard packed morraine, crampons useful, I short roped my only guest. Snow is unssuportive around the hut, knee to crotch deep. Once on the glacier it gets much better, supportive snow, ankle to boottop around 1pm. Good travel on top of the Onion.

We observed many avalanches off Vulture peak, large cornice failures off Vulture and Onion, some around St-Nicolas.

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I've just spent 2 nights at Bow Hut (May 28-30). There is still a lot of snow on the trail, starting at the 1st talus field half way up the canyon. Once out of the trees in the upper valley, it is possible to link snowless features to the back of the bowl. Deep postholing from there and across the c...

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