• Bald Hills; dry up the fire road then patchy snow on top. Easy enough to get around the snow when going up the traverse route to the last peak, but be careful coming down the direct route from the mesa to the lookout.
• Jacques Lake; dry to 2nd Summit Lake, then soggy on the Rocky River side.
• Sulphur Skyline; complete washout on the first part of the trail to the beginning of the first ascent, then dry from there on.

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Originally posted by Engor

Went up Pyramid Mountain yesterday. I hiked the fire-road instead of cycling, definitely not recommended. It was a loooong trip. Patches of deep snow still exist from the base of the mountain up. Most of the route is dry but there is still lots of snow on the upper half. In some places I was struggling in knee-to-crotch deep wet snow. Most of the snow can be avoided though if you prefer scrambling on huge boulders. Both ways are painstakingly slow. Wet and sharp boulders required very careful footing. The snow was more fun on the descent. I experienced all 4 seasons on the mountain.

The mountain is in condition if you don't mind some snow, ice-axe recommended. Wait at least 10 days more if you prefer boulder hopping.

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Originally posted by ian779
I was up on Pyramid July 2 (11 days after Engor) and there is still plenty of snow on the upper half. All snow patches can be avoided until climbing the final ridge, but it looks like an ice axe would still be useful up there. We turned around on the crest below this point. I will definitely take a mountain bike next time to avoid hiking 12km downhill on the fire road at the end - that is a leg killer!

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Originally posted by nomsha

A couple updates:

Alymer Lookout: Went up on Friday July 1. Trail is in good condition - dry and no snow to the lookout, and a fantastic view of Minnewanka. Parks Canada says that it's muddy and snowy, but that's simply not true. We didn't go to the pass, so that may still have some snow along that route. The berries are out, but are not ripe yet, and there was no obvious signs of bear activity yet.

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Originally posted by Stedenko

I took two of my kids camping at LM8 at the junction to the lookout on July 1. There was serious bear activity there. I'm surprised you missed the excitement since there was a ranger going around talking to everyone. There was a female grizzly and 2 cubs hanging around the junction and the campground, and a second single grizzly hanging around the food prep area of the campground.

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Originally posted by Yak

Last week the Upper Black Prince Cirque was still quite snowy, but do-able.

Yesterday I did the Memorial Lakes, they were clear the whole way, good time of year for them.

And a few weeks ago the Windtower was already clear.

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For those of you interested in conditions around Columbia Icefield:

Mt. Wilcox as of July 2:

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Originally posted by BeeWee

Was around Lake O'Hara during the past weekend and did the entire alpine circuit, Yukness North Peak and traversed to the large cairn before the 'Allan Kane' spires, plus Lake McArthur.

Lake O'Hara to Wiwaxi Gap - dry, no snow

Wiwaxi Gap to Lake Oesa - mostly dry but there are still a few avalanche chutes with snow; The snow was dense and stable to walk on with minimal sinking

Lake Oesa to Opabin Valley via Yukness Ledges - mostly dry and snow free with a few small sections with lingering avalanche snow, well packed and easy to walk on. Little to no risk of slipping off the ledges at any point.

Lake Oesa still has broken ice but should melt over the next week. All the lower lakes below Oesa is ice free.

Opabin Valley to All Souls Prospect via All Souls Tr. - Still lots of avalanche debris but the snow pack was stable on Saturday afternoon once it was in the shade. The trail is broken, the snow pack is relatively dense but could change quickly over the coming days. Not recommended until the melts if we get a continued warm spell since this will be quite slippery. Large amounts of exposure with nothing to stop you from slipping to the bottom of the snow pack but rocks at the bottom of the debris. If you want to try an attempt this section, bring gloves, poles and preferably ice axe.

All Souls Prospect to Shaffer Lake - Mostly dry and clear with lingering snow patches here and there

Shaffer Lake to Lake McArthur via high level - Few snow patches, mostly dry with some muddy sections near the melting snow patches. The entire high-level section is free of snow.

Lake Make McArthur still has broken ice but should melt over the next week.

Mt. Yukness - Still lots of snow on the approach from Opabin to the main ascent route near the middle of Mt. Yukness. Poles would be handy but no need for an ice axe. Lots of kick stepping on the way up and a nice glissade down on a few sections. We went up a different route that started just above the trail that takes you down from the Yukness ledges down to Opabin valley (right above the boulder field). The north gullie was still full of snow but had a good overnight freeze. Lots of kick stepping up with relatively stable snow to the North Peak but not recommended without a good overnight freeze or once the sun lights up the west face of Yukness. The ridge is mostly snow free with the exception of a large slab between the 2nd and 3rd peak (one with big cairn before Kane spires) starting from the North Peak. The slab turns into a large cornice - stay well to the west side of the cornice. Going along the ridge from the 2nd to 3rd peak from the north is quite technical and not recommended unless you know the route and are comfortable with some steep downclimbing. Going from south to north would be easier and there's a route that you can take below the ridge to get back to the main gullie for descent/ascent. Lingering snow on the west slopes (not including the gullies) is melting quickly and should be gone in the next week or two.

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