July 18/19 Flett/Russell

I'd sung my Russell Glacier song to Mr. Jimmy(lordhedgie) but man, did he get pretty ill.  He decided to go back to Mowich Lake to either wait for me or get a ride out.  I hope you're feeling better, Jimmy.  After we parted, I carried on to the usual bivy site over  Knapsack Pass.  Managed an evening tour up Mt. Pleasant which gave me a chance to plot a route connecting the snowpatches through Spray Park to the foot of the Flett.

Easy travel Sunday up to the Russell.  Skied east across an icy patch then south along a rock rib and up the fall line toward the glacier's head.  Snow here was less cupped, runnelled and cracked than along the normal route along the glacier's western edge.  Met Brian and Carol around 9000' and climbed up a little higher to the ridge crest where we could look across the Mowich.  There appeared to be fresh tracks on the Edmunds Headwall; it's hard to imagine the Sky Force's tracks would hold up so well from earlier this month. 

We enjoyed a nice fall line run down to the ice patch and crossed over to the Flett.  Here we said our goodbyes and I enjoyed a leisurely ski out with a Guinness break(thanks, Jimmy) at Cat Eye Lake.  Back at the car at 9:30 and after a bleary drive, home at 1 a.m.  Jimmy's illness notwithstanding, a great weekend.