jmckay

Apologies - one clarification to previous post, noted in bold Greetings Sports Fans Here is a pre-Christmas South Coastal update : Anyone who has been monitoring the weather and snow reports in the past week knows that something is going on out there, and the next few days may not be the best time to go looking to head for the wild lines to test out your new boards that Santa brought you. That being said, a close watch of the weather and snow condition reports, as they change, will be a real learning experience. These kind of weather patterns can produce interesting results. Conditions at this time are really changing rapidly. The freezing level is going up and down like a yo-yo which each passing front. Reports of up to a metre of new snow in the alpine in the past 24 hours, with significant winds. Also reports of isothermal snowpack below 2000m with the passing warm fronts. The next big event will be today and tonight with forecasters predicting copious amounts of sub-tropical precip (30-50mm) with freezing levels reaching 2400 m. Although this elevation may be slightly lower as you move inland. Winds are forecasted to be up to 100 km/hr. Keep in mind all this new precip is piling up over crusts / facets/ surface hoar in the alpine which formed in early / mid December. Although rain may penetrate through these layers at times in the storm cycles, they still might remain preserved at the higher elevations, and remain a concern for while, even if the skiing gets better next week. Professionals in the Duffey Lake area are expecting avalanches up to size 2.5 in the Alpine and possibly Treeline elevations over the next day or 2. Many guides are reporting snow dissapearing rapidly at the lower elevations (below 1600 m). In fact Diamond Head has no snow in the parking lot, and it was reported to be a 1.5 km walk on before skis became useful (3 days ago). In contrast to higher elevations, most areas lower than 1800 m are below threshold snowpack levels for avalanching, but keep a weather eye for when the freezing levels drop next week. There have been a few folks poking around on the glaciers. Crevasses were beginning to bridge, however confidence in their strength will be low for a while yet. Some useful sites to monitor over the next few days will be : Whistler.Blackcomb avalanche forecast- http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/weather/advisory/index.htm Whistler/Blackcomb alpine weather forecast - http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/weather/forecast/index.htm CAC Public Avalanche Forecasts - http://www.avalanche.ca/ Merry Christmas! Brian Gould using climber web sites

Climbed Reality Check on the ski hill yesterday. Easy drive to the bottom of the chair. Then laborious trailbreaking to the climb. Snow is thigh deep in sheltered locations and very rotten. Surface hoar is big and widespread below timberline. At -3, the ice was very good. The climb is still a bit chandeliered, but thick enough for long screws. The last 5 m was dripping heavily and overhanging so I abstained. I have no information on where the rain stops and the snow starts, but anticipate very unstable conditions once there is a load. -- Christoph Dietzfelbinger Mountain Guide, Bear Mountaineering and Burnie Glacier Chalet Box 4222 Smithers, B.C. V0J 2N0 Canada tel. 250-847-3351 fax: 250-847-2854 info@bearmountaineering.ca www.bearmountaineering.ca _______________________________________________ These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field. Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information. This is pitch 2 of Guiness Gully For More information check out this page Accident on Guiness again

Went to climb on Mt Hunter(Yoho west) today after abandoning hopes for the Mt. Wilson area. Way too warm everywhere we went. Temperatures were 5c in canmore @6am, 3c in Lake Louise at 7am, 1c in Field @8am. LOTS of cloud, fog and other forms of moisture around. Saw no rain but I bet it fell somewhere and that the snowpack didn't like it. It is not horrendous, but unless it cools the next couple of days could be a poor time to be hanging around under big avalanche paths or big hanging daggers. There were a few very unusual large natural avalanches in the past few days/week so the warm temps will only tweak the snowpack more. A thermometer would be a useful tool the next few days as the forecast temps can be way off the actual temperatures in the mountains at any one place or time. Ice climbing conditions will be great if it cools down and doesn't snow. In the short term however, Santa will know if you have been naughty or nice. Be good and stick to the simple terrain unless you are sure it is COLD and have a Merry Christmas. Larry Stanier

Out today for a profile trip in the Abbott Ridge area (permanent winter closure). 23 cm of storm snow starting to slab and offering a few shooting cracks. Sporty exit to the valley bottom in the trees with many hazards including some devil's club. Ski quality was pretty good at treeline and above, with some upside down powder and skis diving once in a while. Waist deep on the steeper pitches. The storm continues, moist and warm. Watch out as the load increases. Jordy Shepherd IFMGA Mountain Guide _______________________________________________ These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field. Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.

Dec. 19 climbed the rock section of Icicle Fairy with Remy. The ice is very thin and detached so we bailed. The upper pitch looked ok. Dec.20 climbed Polar Circus with Geoff Ruttan. Ice was in good shape, although the second upper tier was a bit wet. Two bits of important info to pass on: 1) The bolts in the middle of the upper tier are garbage...build an ice anchor (This may be common knowledge?) 2) We witnessed significant rock fall while descending which came from above the second upper tier. It came down the route and could have easily taken anyone out in it's path....We were in the right place at the right time. Dec.21 climbed Super Bock with Marco. No debris in the gully made topping out on the short steps in to scree entertaining....sounds the same as Barry's last report. The upper pitch is good and steep. Jesse de Montigny

Climbed in Field today. Very warm, around 0c in parking lot. Went to start on Cascade Kronenburg, way to wet, Carlsberg didn't have a dry line on it. Pilsner was also very wet, but had some dryer lines. Around 3pm it started to snow at the base of climbs and upon descent to parking lot , turned to rain. Rained all the way back to Golden and is now -1c in G-Town. I would strongly agree with Larry, there is going to be some major avalanche action very soon with the new loading on the poor, faceted snow pack and a variety of surfaces. Take care out there. Merry Christmas. Rich Marshall _______________________________________________ These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field. Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.

Just to update all those people planning their Xmas trip to the interior ranges - it is definitely snowing again and that means that things are changing out there in the mountains. The previous couple of weeks worth of clear and cold weather has left a wide variety of surface conditions - from suncrust to windslab , loose faceted snow to surface hoar - which is now covered with the recent storm snow of the last few days which by most reports is fairly dense giving what is commonly called upside down powder - on other words a soft slab. Currently it is snowing steadily in Revelstoke and it sounds like more is on the way so hazards will only increase over the holidays - so keep alert and drive safely as I am sure that the roads are none too great either. Best of the Season to all, Scott Davis Mountain Guide _______________________________________________ These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field. Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.

Guinness Gully Field BC December 20th 2005 Temp: –11 Wind: light/west Sky: over cast 800’ ceiling 10:30 am Arrived in field parking for Guinness. One car parked and older white Subaru. Hike up to Guinness suspecting that people will be there from the tracks. It is just a day to get some exercise and I don’ feel in any shape mentally or physically to climb anything harder. Sure enough there is a party of four that work together on the first pitch. As the last two get set to leave I scampered up to the base of the route. 11:30 am: The ice was cold from the sub 20C temps the previous week. Not much for snow in the area. Steep wind effected gully features would be suspect? My climbing partner for this day was a park warden. Just before setting off I was trying to figure out how to get by without the second pack. We could do it if we left the radio behind I was thinking. I also knew that there wasn’t a snow flakes chance in hell of her leaving that brick behind. What ever happened to just being out there? I gave her half hearted “why don’t you leave the fuck’in thing here look” but pulled my punch cause that wasn’t going to happen and I would just make trouble for myself. Take away the safety net and fly solo. Anyhow we ended with the pack, brick, first aid kit, something else but I am not sure what. The route has been climbed tons and if you’re making pick placements your climbing it wrong. You can get screws when you need them without too much problem. The ice brittle but solid with natural foot placements kicked in at every stance. 12:15pm: Things move along and I catch up to the group ahead. The have broken into two teams the girls on one rope wearing near matching jackets. The guys on the other rope. 60 meters takes me just to the base of the second pitch. I placed a screw in solid ice threw on a plakette and proceeded to bring up my coffee loving, doughnut laden partner. You can see this not recommended technique demonstrated in the first picture. I didn’t want to chain myself to one spot so I walked down a little further in case the parties above knocked down ice. They did but barely enough to fill a scotch glass. I also didn’t want to give the impression that I was in any hurry to get anywhere. I had already started a beer and burger chant. I knew that if we got stalled out and I continued the chant I could get out of this deep freeze. The warden that I was with joined me quick enough and we proceed to wait or queue. Making small talk I found out that they were old friend getting together for a little climbing before Christmas. 2 from out of province a Canmoron and Edmontonian. The group showed a pretty solid skill level placing the belayers out of the way. Sinking screws without too much problem. In fact it was perfect text book the only thing that didn’t belong in the picture was I. I was the wild card. Here I am this force who like anything has the ability to change events simply by existing. Do people feel pressured when this big ugly fat ape of a man comes steamrolling up your ass? Is there a subconscious force that makes you do things different then you might have done otherwise? Is the key to space travel the mastering of time travel? What is the US going to do about Bolivia and the legal Coca trade? What do the Tim Horton’s security people do with all their warden footage? These are just a few of the things going through my head. Lisa I can see is reliving the events that had happened pretty much in the exact same spot 2 weeks earlier. She had been attending a wild beast feast in Lake Louise when a call came out that there was an injured climber on Guinness Gully in Field. To late to fly and to make a long story short she worked the night with her warden buddies and they managed to get the climber out lowering him in a sled. Part of the reason for coming was to have a look at the climb after the accident but 99% of it is that it is easy enough for me to climb comfortably. Approx 12:45 pm A body comes flying off the top of pitch 2. It is the girl on the twin ropes. She falls roughly 20 meters before the ropes come tight on her last piece of pro-located right at the top of the second pitch. (Above that point the pitch kicks back on to grade 2 ices but bullet proof as hell from the cold temps.) Mid height on the waterfall her leg touches the waterfall I am guessing this is when her leg broke. The brunt of her impact was on the right scapula area. Severe bruising and perhaps a slightly fractured hand. Her head impacted with the ice and she lost consciousness. Her partner held the belay which prevented her from sliding farther. Had she been soloing with no ropes her momentum would have carried her over the first pitch. 12:45:03: I ended up being first responder. I first supported her torso and head. Her breathing was irregular and she was snoring. Speckled white foam was coming from her closed lips. . Her eyes were closed and she had a severe laceration above the right eye. (Later identified as coming from the tool) Spinal was definitely a consideration and the primary reason for keeping her where she was. Which was a 30-degree compact snow slope 10 cm thick (sorry Dave, about as thick as your fist in a ski glove) on water ice. 12:46:30 Lisa has ordered a helicopter sling rescue 12:46:35 Lisa the warden does this sort of thing a lot so I figure I will just let her call the shots. After all she is trained for this. (I am trained at nothing so when it comes to doing nothing don’t be giving me no advice.) We gather a couple down jackets. Her belayer tyes her off and comes down to support the head. By this time she has regained consciousness is not aware of what happened, where she is, or events leading up to fall. She is starting to shiver. 1:00 pm the lead climber on the second rope has walked on the west side of the pitch, around and joined us. He had made it to a safe spot before the accident happened so could untie safely at that point. Shortly after this the ambulance arrives in the valley next to the barn. This is the staging area for the forth-coming heli-sling rescue. 1:35 PM Mark Ledwidge NP public safety slings in with splint and some gear. The patient has become more oriented and let s out a stream of profanities that would make a sailor blush. She can feel her legs and tells us we can rule out spinal. Not being the best source of information we decide to ignore her advice. At this point we had slipped packs under her to insulate her from the ice. She was still suspended from ice anchor although transferred to a new one. Safety lines had been set to hook up equipment and tether visiting rescuers if required. 1:40 Brad White NP public safety slings in with additional equipment. 1:40 – 2:00 patient splinted and packaged and airlifted to ambulance. 2:20 Mark Ledwidge flies out with one of the climbers and the extra gear but not before dissin my climbing Helmut. 2:30 there are just the two guys my climbing partner and myself in the gully. A tougher man might have carried on and finished the climb. I however had all the excuses I needed to retreat back to my couch. With that we stripped the gear that was left and headed home. We stopped in at the Mineral Springs hoping that they were yuppie billionaires and were going to leave us a small fortune. Turns out they were people just like me but younger, better looking probably smarter. So we settled for their gratitude and hope it wasn’t us that caused the whole thing in the first place.

Guinness Gully Field BC December 20th 2005 Temp: –11 Wind: light/west Sky: over cast 800’ ceiling 10:30 am Arrived in field parking for Guinness. One car parked and older white Subaru. Hike up to Guinness suspecting that people will be there from the tracks. It is just a day to get some exercise and I don’ feel in any shape mentally or physically to climb anything harder. Sure enough there is a party of four that work together on the first pitch. As the last two get set to leave I scampered up to the base of the route. 11:30 am: The ice was cold from the sub 20C temps the previous week. Not much for snow in the area. Steep wind effected gully features would be suspect? My climbing partner for this day was a park warden. Just before setting off I was trying to figure out how to get by without the second pack. We could do it if we left the radio behind I was thinking. I also knew that there wasn’t a snow flakes chance in hell of her leaving that brick behind. What ever happened to just being out there? I gave her half hearted “why don’t you leave the fuck’in thing here look” but pulled my punch cause that wasn’t going to happen and I would just make trouble for myself. Take away the safety net and fly solo. Anyhow we ended with the pack, brick, first aid kit, something else but I am not sure what. The route has been climbed tons and if you’re making pick placements your climbing it wrong. You can get screws when you need them without too much problem. The ice brittle but solid with natural foot placements kicked in at every stance. 12:15pm: Things move along and I catch up to the group ahead. The have broken into two teams the girls on one rope wearing near matching jackets. The guys on the other rope. 60 meters takes me just to the base of the second pitch. I placed a screw in solid ice threw on a plakette and proceeded to bring up my coffee loving, doughnut laden partner. You can see this not recommended technique demonstrated in the first picture. I didn’t want to chain myself to one spot so I walked down a little further in case the parties above knocked down ice. They did but barely enough to fill a scotch glass. I also didn’t want to give the impression that I was in any hurry to get anywhere. I had already started a beer and burger chant. I knew that if we got stalled out and I continued the chant I could get out of this deep freeze. The warden that I was with joined me quick enough and we proceed to wait or queue. Making small talk I found out that they were old friend getting together for a little climbing before Christmas. 2 from out of province a Canmoron and Edmontonian. The group showed a pretty solid skill level placing the belayers out of the way. Sinking screws without too much problem. In fact it was perfect text book the only thing that didn’t belong in the picture was I. I was the wild card. Here I am this force who like anything has the ability to change events simply by existing. Do people feel pressured when this big ugly fat ape of a man comes steamrolling up your ass? Is there a subconscious force that makes you do things different then you might have done otherwise? Is the key to space travel the mastering of time travel? What is the US going to do about Bolivia and the legal Coca trade? What do the Tim Horton’s security people do with all their warden footage? These are just a few of the things going through my head. Lisa I can see is reliving the events that had happened pretty much in the exact same spot 2 weeks earlier. She had been attending a wild beast feast in Lake Louise when a call came out that there was an injured climber on Guinness Gully in Field. To late to fly and to make a long story short she worked the night with her warden buddies and they managed to get the climber out lowering him in a sled. Part of the reason for coming was to have a look at the climb after the accident but 99% of it is that it is easy enough for me to climb comfortably. Approx 12:45 pm A body comes flying off the top of pitch 2. It is the girl on the twin ropes. She falls roughly 20 meters before the ropes come tight on her last piece of pro-located right at the top of the second pitch. (Above that point the pitch kicks back on to grade 2 ices but bullet proof as hell from the cold temps.) Mid height on the waterfall her leg touches the waterfall I am guessing this is when her leg broke. The brunt of her impact was on the right scapula area. Severe bruising and perhaps a slightly fractured hand. Her head impacted with the ice and she lost consciousness. Her partner held the belay which prevented her from sliding farther. Had she been soloing with no ropes her momentum would have carried her over the first pitch. 12:45:03: I ended up being first responder. I first supported her torso and head. Her breathing was irregular and she was snoring. Speckled white foam was coming from her closed lips. . Her eyes were closed and she had a severe laceration above the right eye. (Later identified as coming from the tool) Spinal was definitely a consideration and the primary reason for keeping her where she was. Which was a 30-degree compact snow slope 10 cm thick (sorry Dave, about as thick as your fist in a ski glove) on water ice. 12:46:30 Lisa has ordered a helicopter sling rescue 12:46:35 Lisa the warden does this sort of thing a lot so I figure I will just let her call the shots. After all she is trained for this. (I am trained at nothing so when it comes to doing nothing don’t be giving me no advice.) We gather a couple down jackets. Her belayer tyes her off and comes down to support the head. By this time she has regained consciousness is not aware of what happened, where she is, or events leading up to fall. She is starting to shiver. 1:00 pm the lead climber on the second rope has walked on the west side of the pitch, around and joined us. He had made it to a safe spot before the accident happened so could untie safely at that point. Shortly after this the ambulance arrives in the valley next to the barn. This is the staging area for the forth-coming heli-sling rescue. 1:35 PM Mark Ledwidge NP public safety slings in with splint and some gear. The patient has become more oriented and let s out a stream of profanities that would make a sailor blush. She can feel her legs and tells us we can rule out spinal. Not being the best source of information we decide to ignore her advice. At this point we had slipped packs under her to insulate her from the ice. She was still suspended from ice anchor although transferred to a new one. Safety lines had been set to hook up equipment and tether visiting rescuers if required. 1:40 Brad White NP public safety slings in with additional equipment. 1:40 – 2:00 patient splinted and packaged and airlifted to ambulance. 2:20 Mark Ledwidge flies out with one of the climbers and the extra gear but not before dissin my climbing Helmut. 2:30 there are just the two guys my climbing partner and myself in the gully. A tougher man might have carried on and finished the climb. I however had all the excuses I needed to retreat back to my couch. With that we stripped the gear that was left and headed home. We stopped in at the Mineral Springs hoping that they were yuppie billionaires and were going to leave us a small fortune. Turns out they were people just like me but younger, better looking probably smarter. So we settled for their gratitude and hope it wasn’t us that caused the whole thing in the first place.

Skied up to Video Peak (in the Connaught drainage) today to do a fracture line profile at a recent skier triggered avalanche (see photo). Failure occurred on a facet layer above a crust, down 20 - 40 cm. Compression test results were in the easy range. Variable ski quality, with a supportive crust under a dusting of new snow on solar facing slopes, and boot top powder skiing in facetted snow on more northerly aspects. It is a little sporty descending into the valley to get back onto the trail out. Expect alder and some snow covered waterfall ice in the exit gullies. I noticed that people are starting to take a lower and lower line when ascending up the Connaught Valley, at about 3km from the hotel. The slopes off the north face of Cheops are holding snow at the moment, and could result in sizeable avalanches if/when they release. It is more work to stay high on the climber's right side of the valley near the forest trim line (under the 'Xmas Trees') but it is also substantially safer. Ski safe, Jordy Shepherd Mountain Guide (See attached file: Video Peak - Glacier Park.jpg)_______________________________________________ These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field. Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.

Alpine Spam's Redneck Rules for Ice Climbing 1. If you climb under somebody and you get whacked with ice suck it up, cause you were in the wrong. There are periods of opportunity where you could sneak around someone or climb up a pitch to get out of the way, use them quickly and wisely, leave room for error. The Weeping Wall and Louise Falls are classic examples. Nobody likes dropping ice on other people so it is the passing climbers responsibility to stay out of harms way. 2. Passing somebody don't make you King of the hill. However like chess it does give you better position. Of course you have to respect the rights of the other players but the ice is in your control. The Rockies is a popular place and not really as big as we let on. Most climbs can be managed with more than one party if people work together. 3. Don't cater to guided groups. They are normally a pretty good bunch to have around. The guides know what they are doing and will not set up under popular multi pitch areas. They should always be early enough or with a small enough party that they can work around you. 4. Don't let the Ice know your scared. Art of War "know yourself, know your enemy and you'll never lose a battle" Like a good pony, ice can smell fear. Nervous apprehension is good for the soul as long as it does not affect the mind and body. Musashi said it best in the Book of Five Rings when describing the state of ones mind in combat ..." when practising martial arts ( Ice Climbing) ...let there be no change at all--with the mind open and direct... neither tense nor lax.. centring the mind so there is no imbalance...Even when the mind is still it is not still, even when the mind is hurried it is not hurried... the mind is not dragged by the body, the body is not dragged by the mind....even if superficially weak hearted be inwardly strong hearted and do not let others see into your mind..." 5. Never spit or swear in front of women or children. It is just plain bad manners. It shows a poor upbringing and a complete disrespect for all the good things your parents tried to teach you. 6. If you know you are slow start stupidly early. This give you the best chance of not having some hot dog solo up past you, set up, then lead above you. Gives plenty of lead and control of your line. It is nice to be coming off when the afternoon shift arrives. 7. Defend the defenceless. Help out if you think someone needs it. This is a tough one because you can feel a little intrusive. If you see an accident in the making I guess you have to step in because you will have to deal with the aftermath. Blatant errors are acceptable, nit picking is unacceptable. 8. Smoke em if yeh got em!

Joshua Levigne and I enjoyed a chilly tour up and over the so-called "Observation Sub-Peaks" today, skiing down the south bowl from the very top of the second peak. Good travel along a well-broken trail into the upper cirque. Past this there was no sign of previous travel due to the fact that the alpine has been thoroughly hammered by wind--with the exception of sheltered S and SE aspects. Ski crampons might be a good idea. Our run down was a big, pleasant surprise--10-15 cm of low density facets on top of a bulletproof crust made for a long sweet run. Below treeline the going is sporty--I busted pretty well every survival ski trick I know. Lots of early season hazards. The glaciers on the north side of Obs/Cirque are totally wind scoured and not worth skiing right now. We observed no new avalanche activity. Some signs of sz 1-2 on SE aspects in the alpine. Some whoomfing and minor cracking on E asp (reasonably sheltered/loaded) at 8000-8300 ft: a 10 cm soft slab with the upper 5 cm being unconsolidated facets. Average height of snow is around 50 cm, a deli sandwich of facets, faceting MF crusts, and faceting windcrusts galore. It doesn't get better than the Rockies in December. Stability -- from our limited observations I would guess Good in the alpine (caution on specific windloaded features), Fair at treeline, and Good below treeline (below threshold). Regards, Tom Wolfe _______________________________________________ These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field. Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.

Holiday Greetings, A brief update of the ski touring conditions over this past week on the western edge of the Monashees, 30 minutes west of Revelstoke. On December 17th we found ourselves breaking through the week-long valley cloud and enjoying bright sunshine and a surprisingly good day of skiing on re-crystallized surface snow and a blanket of ‘trophy sized’ surface hoar. Though there was little concern for avalanche hazard that day, the writing was on the wall for things to come with the next storm system. The faceted surface snow that was providing for such good skiing today would soon be covered with the forecasted new snow… The snow pack varied in depth from 85cm at 1700m, to an average of 120cm at 2000m. A couple of quick profiles showed a solid, pencil-hard base layer of 50-60cm. Just deep and strong enough to keep your skis from hitting the logs and stumps which are still very obvious. Directly above this were the remnants of an early December rain crust (2cm/ 1F+), which the typical facets above and below. And above these facets were another 40-60cm of facets and mix forms, blanketed by the aforementioned surface hoar. Felt a bit like ski touring in the Rockies on a really good year! Yesterday morning we awoke to a blanket of new snow in Revelstoke and with high expectations, drove west to exactly the same location. And what a difference a few days can make! We had arrived expecting to find 20cm of new snow and a ‘touchy’, but easily manageable, surface instability. What we found instead was 2-5cm of new snow overlying the surface hoar and facets, then covered by a 2cm breakable rain crust that extended as high as the terrain would allow (2040m). The ski quality was poor. But more importantly, the surface hoar and facets are now protected by the rain crust in this area, and it’s looking like we’ll have a lingering layer to watch through the holiday season. As it stands, the new December 20th layer will now require more ‘load’ to become reactive than it would have with out the rain crust. And the consequences of a slab release would be bigger as well. But who knows, maybe the forecasted rain will flush things out today and tomorrow? Never thought I’d hope for some rain! Have a safe holiday season everyone! Paul Norrie A.C.M.G. Mountain Guide Re:cascade - 2005/12/17 07:20 Hi There I climbed Cascade about 10 days ago and it is as good as it has ever been. I think if you climbed it today or tomorrow it may be an all right (?) place to go. There have however been a couple natural avalanches and a recent ski triggered one at the hill. The cold temps you can be sure are having its way with the shallow snow. I personally would be extremely cautious with this next snowfall scheduled to come in Wednesday or Thursday. Cascade is an extreme lee aspect and it seems that this is where these naturals have been occurring. Later in the week we have a 20-degree warming trend with snow. This I would classify as a rapid change in the energy state of the snow pack, which always throws up red flags in my wee little brain. BOURGEAU RIGHT HAND Climbed the route today. It is in great shape. The snow cover on the approach is thin so there are a few sketchy sections. The walk off descent works with an exposed section to avalanche hazard for about 200 meters along the skiers right side of the large slide path (Bourgeau 7). Marc Ledwidge Mountain Guide _______________________________________________ These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field. Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.

Let me guess this was a cringer. Your right that was a little over the top even for me. I guess the combination of a couple bad days, 2 gin and tonics and a latent case of fetal alcohol syndrome (which seems to be getting worse as I get older) has me over reacting. All of which does not give me the right to be calling people names even if they should be nominated for a Darwin Award. So for that I apologize. Which if you know me does not happen very often. I will have to talk to my fact checker as I was under the impression that the climber was on ice not a sport route and decking continuously. (which still does not allow me to be overly rude) Out of the several times that I have been a first responder to climbing accidents all but a couple have been preventable. There are other times say the Nagy incident where a rock sits in one spot for lets say 2 million years then a butterfly on the Tibetan plains flaps its wings sending molecules and atoms crashing together with just enough force to push a boulder off of its perch while someone is walking below it. The odds make the lottery look good. I have myself been the victim of poor judgment. The time I broke my ankle on Mardi Gra my ego getting in the way of common sense. I had a belayer who had never belayed before which I was aware of. And an audience of new climbers as there was a Yam Scam class going on. So rather then take my buddy up a few easy classics, as was the original plan I decided to show everybody how bad I was. Well I managed to do that but not in the way I intended. Decking on the little bulge and busting up my ankle somewhat. The time I broke my ribs falls somewhere in between the act of God (not that I believe in any supreme being because if there is one he/she is one cruel motherfucker). It was the top of the 4th rambled pitch on professors. Tom Hamilton from Vancouver had come out to climb ice for a week. He asked me to take a picture on rappel. I rapped first then took out the camera. The fresh snow made it impossible to distinguished between rock slab and ice. Armed with a camera and my eye in the viewfinder I backed up to frame the shot. Stepped on a steep angled rock slab went down hard onto my rack. You could literally hear the ribs crack. I cursed the pain away, which was a common therapy in those days and rolled onto my back (big mistake). I then proceeded to slide towards the lip of the fourth pitch backstroking like the bastard that I am. I can only think it was dumb luck or some reptilian survival instinct but I rolled over my rack and freshly broken ribs onto my stomach. My newly sharpened foot fang front points grabbing the lip of the fourth pitch a cm (Sorry Dave, less than a inch) from the edge. Dumb thing to do / Yeh, but I didn’t know any better at the time. Think it was my second season of ice climbing / mountaineering. I can understand an honest mistake but I certainly didn’t get up and do it two more times. In fact I can safely credit that incident with saving my life more times then all of you have had hot breakfasts (combined). Then we get into a whole different league of professional athletes and so called explorers. I’m going to fly my helicopter around the world of course when I crash land in the arctic wasteland I do expect some Otter pilot to come and haul me out of there. I’m going to self propel my ass across the arctic. That sort of thing was possible when the boats here made of wood and the men were made of steel but that era is long over. Of course when the flow is moving the wrong direction I will just pull my locater beacon somebody will come and get me and they always do. Wonder what would happen if nobody came to your party? What if your claim to fame was to be 37th person to die trying to cross the North Pole, period. What about dude who was stuck in a snow cave at 6000 or so meters on some heinous ridge last spring in Pakistan? What was he doing with a sat phone checking his email? It’s a good thing that the western world puts so much value on its citizens and it is no longer “you pay’s your money, you take your chances”. The Canadian government will always come looking for you so the least that you can do before heading down that big unstable slope is wear a beacon so that they don’t have to spend days looking for your ass. Going soloing? Leave a route plan or carry something that will communicate with the outside world. Unless your dodging the mafia, old lady and tax man all at the same time then I guess you can’t really drop a card saying your having fun on your ranch in the Bahamas. Remember that as singular as your activity may seem you are effecting a whole lot of people and resources. Some positively perhaps but my guess is that your mother will miss you. I would carry this thought process to its conclusion but have things to do. Wacky Jackie turns ten today so I am going to pull her out of school and go skiing or ice climbing not sure which yet. Ten was the age that I was ripped away from my coyote family to come live with you so called civilized folks. If only we could turn back the hands of time I would have hidden better and we would all have been better off.

ello Climbed Massey's today with one guest. Route is in ok shape. Pillar on first pitch (climbers left) was soaked so took the line to the right, which was dry and brittle. Second pitch was also quite wet (no real dry lines). Dry and brittle again for the third. -9 at the car at 0830 and a high of -4 at 1315. Calm winds with heavy fog in the morning, clearing in the afternoon. No avalanche activity observed. Lots of really BAD drivers on the TCH - Be aware!! Have fun Mike Mike Stuart ACMG Assistant Alpine Guide #1-730 3ST Canmore, AB T1W 2J6 T: 403 609 8454 E: m_stuart@telus.net

I was up in Corbin Pass area which is located in the Selkirk Mountains about 45kms. east of Revelstoke yesterday. The weather was mostly sunny with definite solar radiation effects on the southerly aspects (some snowballs rolling and moist surface snow). The snowpack was quite a bit shallower (mostly around 80cm. with a maximum of 100cms. at 2100m.)than what I have been seeing in the Rogers Pass area and considerably weaker as a result. There was @ 30cm. of faceted snow over a weak and rotting crust (meaning lots of faceting going on in and around the crust). There is not much of a slab yet but when the load comes it will cause some problems in this area for sure. Some surface hoar was observed (3-5mm) on the surface with suncrusts forming on solar aspects from the daytime radiation. Other than that it is hard to recommend that people head to Corbin as the Alder down low is still pretty thick to say the least. Tonight (Monday Dec.12) in Revy we had a tease of 2-3 cm. (kind of like a rockies dump) - other than that not much in the outlook for snow coming our way for the rest of the week. Cheers, Scott Davis Mountain Guide _______________________________________________ These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field. Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.

I wish I was as honest as RC. LEE . He posted on "live the vision" which is a pretty good site for those who are thinking of heading up to Canada. JJ McKay

On a hike toward the glacier today, I found the ice climbable on both main falls in Glacier Gulch. The other routes vary. The middle falls, which are great for teaching, are not reaching down and unusable. There were 35 cm of snow at timberline (1150 m). Two crusts interspersed with facets, some buried old surface hoar 12 cm down. Wind effect in alpine. No skiing. -- Christoph Dietzfelbinger, Mountain Guide Bear Mountaineering and the Burnie Glacier Chalet Box 4222 Smithers B.C. Canada V0J 2N0 info@bearmountaineering.ca www.bearmountaineering.ca tel. 250-847-3351 fax 250-847-2854 _______________________________________________ These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field. Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.

As a follow-up to Scott's last post... I just returned from 7 days from taking the "other" guide's course, at Mustang Powder, a cat-ski operation east of Revelstoke in the Monashees with a heck of a lot of snow. Here's the low-down: Lodge elev: 1740 m Temps: -10 to -20 40 cm storm snow (Dec 4-5) Height of snowpack: 150 cm average above 1600 m, less in lower down and in windswept alpine areas. Limited alpine observations. Weather ------- We experienced moderate to high winds from the NW throughout the week. 40 cm of storm snow starting on the evening of Dec 4 through to Dec 5. Dec 6-8 were calmer, warmer, and sunnier with a brief temperature inversion on the morning of the 7th. The high pressure ridge is keeping up a strong fight against the lows that have been bringing just light to moderate precip to north and west parts of BC. Snowpack -------- Below the November 25 MF crust seems to consist of a dense snowpack that is well bonded, with a distinctive thick MF/Rain crust from October about 50 cm from the ground. Above the November 25 crust there is about 20 cm of facetted snow with the recent Dec 4th storm snow above it. There is heavy wind effect on all aspects with lee loading on SE aspects and cross loading on all open terrain on all aspects observed. We noted a couple of weaknesses, notably a facet/surface hoar layer about 5-10 cm above the crust, a facet/SH layer at the November 25 interface, and a mid-storm weakness halfway through the December 4th storm snow. These weaknesses are settling out quickly. The recent cold weather and clear, sunny days have resulted in a lot of faceting in the upper snowpack. Stability --------- The storm brough poor stability at treeline and above from Dec 4-6, but things settled out quickly. A widespread avalanche cycle resulted in many sz 1-2 on all aspects which "didn't run far"... By Thursday (yesterday) we decided: F (alpine) F (TL) G (BTL), which would likely translate to a danger rating of Considerable in the alpine and Moderate at and below treeline. Quality ------- Excellent, deep powder, all aspect, in the trees. In open areas at all elevations things were pretty hammered; this might change with the faceting. Forecast -------- Cool temps and light precip with moderate winds are in the Wx forecast. For avalanche forecasts, see www.avalanche.ca! Regards, Tom Wolfe _______________________________________________ These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field. Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.

Is this not the right code to submitt photos so WTF?

This is a fairly experienced climber who posted on a little info on a a accident he had recently. You can take or leave the advice but it is worth the read if you are just starting out in the climbing game. " posted this on Lost and Found (left screw), but enough people expressed interest I repeat it here (plus I'm bored due to sitting around with my leg up-- no not my third leg. . .) Dec. 3: on 2 Low 4 Zero-- I took a leader fall. Fall was a result of a left-hand tool plant shearing off a substantial block of ice (very brittle ice that day- very cold) while I was placing the other tool. The left tool proceeded to hit me in the mouth with some velocity, breaking a front incisor in half and causing a puncture wound on my lower lip. More importantly, the force of this hit caused me to lose my feet (which were pretty good) and a free fall of 12-15 ft. Crampon on my right foot caught, severely spraining my ankle (thankfully, nothing broken). I fell on a section which was largely vertical to overhanging below me, so I did not hit the ice with much force (i.e. no additional injuries). I was leading on 2 ropes above a 3 screw belay which I had set up maybe 40m off the ground. The force of the fall pulled my wife off her feet and against the anchors (I weigh well over 200 lbs fully laden). I was suspended head down, pulled myself up, and placed a screw to clip off. I managed to climb up a few feet to retrieve an intermediate screw, then with some difficulty (due to thin ice) set up an Abalakov with a "leaver" screw backup. Due to the sprained ankle I did not feel confident climbing back up to retrieve the screw that I fell upon, so I pulled the rope through, set up a double rope rap through the Abalakov, and rapped down. My wife rapped the same rig. I did not feel the need for an evacuation-- I was not critically injured, and although it is a substantial walk in to this climb, it is largely easy trail. Additionally, we each had a ski pole, so with my wife carrying a heavier pack (bless her heart) and me using both poles, I was able to manage, albeit slowly. My feet were already somewhat cold due to the low temps, and I tightened the boot ankle on the injured foot, so it wasn't too painful. Had the body checked out and the ankle X-rayed at the Canmore hospital (excellent service- only took about 2 hours door to door!) and heard the good news that nothing was broken. Lessons? Well, 1) Don't climb when it is close to minus 20. The ice can become particularly brittle. Additionally, this was a cold snap after a period of very warm temps, which probably contributed to chossy ice. Although I was on a climb that was well within my leading abilities and I wasn't having any particular difficulty, it was a bit difficult to find good plants and I was knocking off some big chunks. Under such conditions additional care is obviously warranted. Plus, it just isn't very pleasant. . .2) Although we had plenty of good clothing, if I had been more seriously injured and a rescue necessary, the clothing we had may have been insufficient to hold off hypothermia. We should have been carrying an additional insulating layer. 3) Ski poles are gold in the event of an injury. Walking out on my own accord would have been very difficult without. Remember "Touching the Void". . .4) This was my first (and hopefully last) leader fall on water ice (this is my 8th season water ice climbing). Although I have done quite a bit of soloing on easy (up to WI4) water ice, this experience has cured me of that. I would have surely died without a rope. I was quite impressed with the holding power of the screw and belay chain, even in less-than perfect ice. It also demonstrated the power of a good belayer and keeping cool heads. Outcome-- not being able to climb for several weeks due to bad ankle, and a broken tooth that could be fixed without a root canal. Very lucky, but a wake-up call."

There has been a CAA Level 1 course in the Whistler/Blackcomb "near" country for the past few days. Here is a synopsis of what we have seen. A few cm of snow and cold temps early in the week gave way to broken skies and temps in the positive range later on, maximums of +2 were recorded Thursday. Light winds. Snowpack depths variable: not enough snow below treeline to avalanche; at treeline and in the alpine depths range from 70 to 130 cm. Two melt-freeze crusts are found at all aspects and elevations, one down 10-20 cm under the low density surface snow and the other down about 50-70 cm. The upper one is only a few cm thick and shows signs of facetting on either side of it, most notably on upper elevation north aspects. The deeper one is thick and strong but also shows some facetting although these facets are not as weak as around the upper one. Some moderate to hard shears have been found on these crusts, but nothing consistent. Near the surface in the alpine there are some windslabs, and inconsistent moderate to hard shears have been observed beneath these slabs. Surface hoar is buried a few cm below the surface beneath very soft surface snow but is not an issue at this point. No avalanche activity has been noted. No reaction of the surface wind slabs with limited ski testing. Alpine: Low Treeline: Low BTL: N/A Marc Schoenrank, Assistant Ski Guide Mark Bender, Ski Guide Mark Klassen, Mountain Guide _______________________________________________ These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field. Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.

Climbed Candle Stick Maker Yesterday Via Hidden Dragon in the Ghost. Extremely strong winds, and a two hour squall gave us 5 cm. Soft and hard slab reacting extremely easily. Good thing that we were in and area that was well below threshold. I am not sure what was like anywhere else, but if the Banff Jasper highway had the same winds as we did, definitely need to be careful of any big open slopes!!! Second to the last pitch I found quite challenging, very cold ice, and even the ice screws were squeaking and having a hard time going in. Had to clean a lot of ice to get a solid stick! Sure felt like a solid WI 5. The last pitch was quite a bit easier. There was water running, which made for good plastic ice. The draw back was the wind was blowing the water all over the place making us wet, and with –10 degrees temperature, everything froze solid instantly. However was a great day out! Marco Delesalle Mountain Guide ACMG/UIAGM

We are doing a guide training course in the Monashee mountains just west of Blanket glacier (Monashee Powder Snowcats). Lodge elev.1600m Afternoon Weather Skies scattered Nil precip. Temps. Max. -6.5 Pres. -11.5 Min.-11.5 22cm. storm snow Height of snowpack 109cm. Light winds from the north Today we had strong winds from the north as the arctic air moved the storm of last night out of the area - extensive wind effect in the alpine and into the Treeline has created soft slab conditions that were quite reactive to ski cutting in the morning at treeline/alpine but seemed to tighten somewhat later in the day - some natural activity observed but with all the wind transport things were being blown in as fast as they failed - most activity was size 1-2 maximum and limited to unsupported steep features. Snowpack 30 cm. recent wind affected storm snow - over 30cm. of low density snow that is sitting on a 5 cm. crust - we have had limited obs. In the alpine and so far have not seen the buried surface hoar that is being reported elsewhere. Roughly 150cm snowcover once you are above 1800m. Hopefully things will be somewhat less blustery tomorrow. Keep them slippery side down, Cheers, Scott Davis Mountain Guide _______________________________________________ These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field. Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.