Chris at Blowdown Cabin:
“It was an impromptu reunion of the Halymore-Melvin trip with Cara, Dean and Quirine joining me. The Blowdown Road was sloppier on flat stretches and near the spurs at 1 and 2.5km (you will get muddy) but there are no new waterbars (see trip report for Blowdown-Van Horlick Divide for more on this road). It looks like there hasn’t been any recent snow in the area. At 1600 m, any snow was in sheltered pockets. On south-facing slopes, continuous snow didn’t start until 2200 m or higher. At the cabin (2000 m in a sun-sheltered bowl) there was only 4-6 inches of dry, crusted snow. But temperatures were low – not much above freezing in the early afternoon and -6 C at 7:30 am. The trail to the cabin isn’t flagged well so with the snow covering the upper parts of the route, we frequently lost and regained the trail. The meadows were only partly frozen (i.e. still wet) and there was still flowing water in some places even above 2200 m. Log crossings and boulder fields were either frosty or wet so pretty treacherous. The cabin was, in the words of one log entry, ‘pimped’ and mouse-free. Found out that Dean can bust out some crazy dance skillz. Thanks for a cherry trip, guys.”
