The North Glacier Route on Mt. Athabasca This once popular route actually has many obvious and hidden dangers that will be described below. This is one of the choices for the summit day on day three of the Basic Snow and Ice Course (day five of Intro to Mountaineering). The summit is 11.452 feet / 3491 meters above sea level which means altitude sickness, although rare, is possible and has happened here. Quite often fit individuals will suffer from minor affects of altitude during our climbs. Headaches and feeling unduly tired are common complaints. Keeping hydrated and fed are two ways to combat this, along with proper pacing and well spaced breaks. Crevasse hazard is very real on this route and varies depending upon the time of year, the time of day and the quality of the snowpack. Good routefinding and proper ropework are essential to safety. Sometimes a slip or fall is more of a danger than crevasses so the way in which the rope is used will vary as the day progresses. In addition, depending upon the conditions, the way in which the rope will be used can vary from one day to the next even when travelling on exactly the same route. Judgment and situational awareness are key to proper ropework. The north glacier route traverses under seracs and icefall. This means that large blocks of ice can suddenly break off and without warning fall down the mountain. Ice fall has gone right across the normal route in the past. The equivalent to a large size 4 avalanche ran across the normal route in the 1990s. Fortunately this occurred during the night when there were no parties on the route. Avalanches can also happen here especially on and under the part of the mountain called the "Silverhorn". In the mid - 1990s a non-guided party was hit by a sizeable (Size 2) avalanche from above. Avalanches here are more likely just after a snow storm or in the afternoon as the snow warms up and weakens. Avalanches are also more likely on a day following a warm night during which the snow did not freeze well at night. Best to wait for a cold clear night to freeze things in place, then get up very early and start your climb in the dark so that the descent is made early in the day before the hazard level rises. You also have to be willing to turn back if conditions are too warm or the snow is still moist early in the morning. During our guided ascents we now only take groups on this route when we feel the conditions are just right, otherwise we opt for the less objectively hazardous AA Col Route. Sometimes we will ascend one route and descend another if conditions warrant a change of plan. The photos in this essay were taken on Day 5 of the Introduction to Mountaineering Course (Day Three of the Basic Snow and Ice Course). The group is obviously young and fit and we made reasonable time as conditions were fairly good, although not perfect as trailbreaking was more difficult than normal.