Canada Poll

[kurthicks]

Balfour Wall. Weeping Wall. Grotto Canyon. That's all i've got w/o the book handy.

[vegetablebelay]

Two O Clock Falls.

[daler]

Lambone said:

Ok, new question. Avy danger looks to be high now, forecast says "Ice climbs with snow above them are a bad idea."

 

 

 

So if conditions continue to worsen later this week, what are some good routes that arn't prone to avy hazard?

 

Matt,

 

If avy condition are high it is a good bet that the Ghost will be fine. It is part of what is called the dry range and usually has way less snow and many of the climbs don't have bowls above or below them. You will need to rent a 4x4(pay for the extra no hassle insurance and don't tell them where you went)

 

Wicked Wanda 4+

Malignant mushroom 5

Sorecer 5

Hydrophobia 5+

Good the bad and Ugly 3-5

This house of Sky 3

 

I have climbed all of these except house of sky and they are all 3 Star.

 

Dale

Edited November 19, 2003 by daler

[glassgowkiss]

since you are flying into calgary ghost is a good place to go. take a snow shovel with you and chains. when you drive to the north ghost don't follow the road or you'll get stuck in the drifts. instead turn left at the bottom of big hill, go to a dyke and follow the dyke till the little log bridge. a couple of river crossings and you'll be under gbu.

also other routes to consider there:

fist and a fang

candle stick maker (don't know if it is in this year)

anorexia nervosa & weathering hights

you could solo this house of sky the first day and climb on gbu, go to fist and a fang the next and then try something else if you have any juice left. Valley of the birds has some fantastic climbing. don't underestiamte the eagle- it can be pretty hard for the grade.

as far as other routes- don't go under any snow slopes till you figure out snow conditions and avi hazard.

one thing i have learned about the rockies. i don't make plans, since they never pan out. i just go there, see what i can get on and climb.

going to the ghost for 3 days is kind of miserable right now. you'll have to stay in a tent or your car for 14 hours a day, can't dry out.

re polar circus. it's not the big slope above you have to worry about. it's the traverse across, half way up the route (pencill by-pass). that slope gets loeaded with spindrift and can avalanche out.

you can also do mixed master. watch out for a snow slope leading to the last pitch, it did slide before. weeping wall is safe so is murchinson falls.

also consider getting on some mixed climbs there. grotto falls are has 0 avi hazard. there are 3 or 4 mixed bolted lines there, plus 3 ice lines, so you can spend all day there.

and get ready to get spanked, it will be a good test of your real climbing abilities.

[Lambone]

Thanks guys, this is really good info.

 

Ghost is a possibilty, my buddy has a pick-up. What we do is kind of up to them as well, I just want to know some options.

 

So near the icefields/Rampart Creek we've got Weeping Wall and Murchison, both classic. Polar might be sketchy, any other options that might be a good alternative for day three? How far is grotto canyon from that area?

 

Would you be able to tell if the slopes on PC had slid from down low?

[kurthicks]

grotto is about 10 minutes east of Canmore on hwy 1A. there are three nice mixed lines to get pumped on. the routes are not that long though since you can TR all of them. as for PC, i remember thinking that you could see the debris below it since you can see it on Lady Wilson's quite easily and they're basically neighbors...

[JoshK]

I dont remember PC specifically, but I do know you want to be nowhere near any of the lady wilson climbs if they avy conditions are high...that cleft is a death trap.

[kailas]

Johnston creek is in the woods, low avi danger.

[kurthicks]

i have a friend who got hit by a piece of ice bigger than a microwave there last year. it could easily have killed her, but she walked away just fine. i'm not saying it's a bad place to go, but just be careful because it's a bowling alley. i'd rather take my chances with avys than be there on a busy day.

[J_Fisher]

Matt, I don't think there's any way you could assess the slopes on the pencil bypass on PC. When I was there last year, we left the car thinking avie danger would be zip b/c there was only a bit of old crusty consolidated snow at the base. We were definitely surprised to traverse off the 3d pitch to find thigh deep windslab that had been deposited that night. That whole bit was pretty spooky.

Edited November 21, 2003 by J_Fisher

[Dru]

i don't make plans, since they never pan out. i just go there, see what i can get on and climb.

this is basically the most useful beta ever posted on the website. making a fixed plan weeks in advance with no idea what conditions will exist on the day is a recipie for failure in the absence of radical flexibility. just go there and climb some shit cause its all good.

 

 

[JoshK]

Dru said:

 

this is basically the most useful beta ever posted on the website.

 

HA! A truer word was never spoken. Now, granted, it's not like this bit of beta had to compete with much else...

[Lambone]

Yeah, but my stoner buddies are so bad at making a quick plan...so I like to come prepared. were flexibvle, we will send...I'll post shots upon return and spray about it...later suckaz!

[snoboy]

Another consideration re: avy hazard, for those not familiar with the Rockies:

 

Sometimes the mountains will look dry, or "boney," but the bowls will be wind loaded. This can lull you into thinking that the hazard is low, when in fact it is not. Just something to keep in mind.

[Retrosaurus]

Carlsberg Column

Kitty Hawk

Polar Circus

Weeping Wall Center

[David_Parker]

J_Fisher said:

Matt, I don't think there's any way you could assess the slopes on the pencil bypass on PC. When I was there last year, we left the car thinking avie danger would be zip b/c there was only a bit of old crusty consolidated snow at the base. We were definitely surprised to traverse off the 3d pitch to find thigh deep windslab that had been deposited that night. That whole bit was pretty spooky.

 

I'm at work and the # is in my guide book, but they have info on avy conditions for climbs such as PC and Borgeau L&R. They actually "control" those climbs, but you still need to use your own common sense. There is so fucking much to do, you can find something on any day. Be flexible and smart.

[J_Fisher]

Re avie control on Polar Circus: there's a sign at the base that talks about this. I think the wardens try to "close" the route when danger is high and they haven't bombed it yet. My impression, though, was that the control was on the slopes above the route and not on the route itself. Maybe I'm wrong.

 

Retro's suggestions are great routes but Carlsberg and Kitty Hawk don't meet the low avie danger requirement. Kitty Hawk is a giant funnel. I've got 1st hand knowledge that it's not a fun place to be when the slopes above release.

 

Of course Matt's probably on his way home by now anyway...

[IceIceBaby]

Well, on my way there Thursday anything in away of avalanche danger that I should be aware of (latest conditions)

[J_Fisher]

Neri:

 

http://www.avalanche.ca/index.html

Have fun

 

Edited November 25, 2003 by J_Fisher

[glassgowkiss]

big snow dump not only effected avi conditions, but also driving. people are getting stuck in Ghost and are digging for hours at the time. there was monster truck or two, making it into south ghost and north ghost is a good question. you can make it to the bottom of big hill and try to walk from there.

whiteman falls is in and the road is open till Dec 01. other option could be climbing south, in waterton park.

as far as polar circus- it's not the big slope you have to worry, it's the small slope on pencil bypass. it get loaded with spindrift. there is no possibility of protecting this slope is it slides. why is this so hard to comprehand by some of the posters on this board?

[layton]

yo!

can't protect the slope?

shit, what about that jammed 7mm prussik knot equilized to the driven BD cobra pick? shit's bomber.

 

[Lambone]

Thanks yall we did...

 

Proffesor Falls

Weeping Left (bailed due to ice fall and heavy snow sluffs)

and Louise Falls (fat and fun!)

 

Polar Looked Sweet but turning the Pencil looked spooky and the sun was bringing tons of snow down on southern aspects. Photos to come...

 

What a fucking awsome place

[jja]

What a fucking awsome place

Ditto!! Proffessor Falls was cool. First pitch on Friday:

 

[Lambone]

Nice dude! Posted some photos in the Gallery...