jmckay Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 Rogers Pass/ Flat Creek Scared of the predicted warming and consequent apocalypse ,we stayed in the trees. It never got as warm as forecasted. We went up Flat ck. a different way then up the N ridge. Starting on the trail after 2 km we skied right up the creek. It was nice and sunny there, fun too linking up bridges from one side to the other. At the first avalanche path coming down from W slopes we crossed to the W side of Flat ck and made our way up nicely using benched terrain through the trees up to the ridge proper and then to the knob at 2140M. Clear, calm and -1 with an HS of 165 at Tree line. No natural avalanches seen but for sloughing on solar aspects. Hard hand shear 55 down on a stiffer (P-) layer. Skied NE open terrain with sparse trees back down to ck. Good line. Called avalanche hazard in NE facing terrain unexposed from above hazards; Alpine: ~ (unobserved), Tree-line Good and Below Tree-line Good . Happy trails, Eric Dumerac. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmckay Posted February 15, 2006 Author Share Posted February 15, 2006 Info a little dated but Todd’s post reminded me that I forgot to post. Feb 5-12 in the southern Purcell's at Ptarmigan Hut. Temps generally mild - lows around –12, highs mainly around –5, with the 10th & 11th around zero. Only 5cm new snow throughout the week, on I believe the night of the 9th. Extensive wind effect in the alpine with lots of hard slab on exposed features. Snowpack: generally well settled mid-pack with CTH resistant planar trending non-planar break, down around 45cm on the previous storm snow interface. This interface was consistently scoring RB7’s at all aspects and elevations. The pack, as elsewhere, overlies the Dec 24 crust/facet layer and 3-4mm facets to ground (about 20cm of them under the 051224 crust). They definitely don’t have the load down that way that the Selkirk's do (max snow depth observed was 230cm) , which is probably why there is a lack of natural activity from cornice drops and warming that the Selkirk's have witnessed as of late. While we didn’t push the terrain at all (it was a CAA Level 1 course so we spent most of the time digging profiles) I felt that the potential for a rather large skier triggered avalanche was certainly there, although low. Lots of thick-thin snowpack issues that is ripe for someone stepping in the wrong place to trigger an entire feature. Calling snow stability G/G/VG at the end of the trip, Hazard would have been Moderate/Low/Low... But that Moderate definitely has the potential to be big if you tickle the facets and December crust just right. Best terrain I have seen for an avalanche course to date... I’d highly recommend it as a venue for an ARAC too... Ian Tomm Assistant Ski Guide ian@avalanche.ca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmckay Posted February 16, 2006 Author Share Posted February 16, 2006 oday we skied up the E flank to get a different view. Strong gradients are breaking the snow down in protected areas. In wind exposed areas (which is everywhere on this flank once out of the big timber) there is a knife hard windslab about 10 cm thick that is interrupted, but very widespread.We experienced no whumpfing at all and there was no propagation when we broke the slab at its edges. We advise caution in exposed areas (which is again all of this flank) as this windslab sits over softer layers and fails easily and cleanly in shear tests. We do not expect this slab to break down even with the current strong gradients. We saw no recent avalanches and it appears that last weekend's snowfall yielded only 6 cm here. Skiing quality was poor. Travel conditions are poor on large hard debris lumps in the lower gully and fair on variable crusts higher up. -- 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmckay Posted February 16, 2006 Author Share Posted February 16, 2006 Average snowdepth ranges from 120-180 cm. The snowpack is generally well settled with a strong mid pack, however weak facets near the base of the snowpack continue to cause uncertainty. Banff Park avalanche danger is rated as MODERATE, meaning human triggering is possible in specific locations. These locations are likely to be shallow snowpack areas, or areas with great variation in snowpack depth. Shallow snow is weak snow. South and west aspects exposed to wind scouring should be considered suspect. Avalanches may be hard to trigger, but if you hit the sweet spot it might be huge. Numerous, unusually large avalanches have been observed in the past three weeks. Low angled terrain, and N aspects had soft snow. Suncrust on south and west aspects. Observed a south aspect, 30 degree slope at treeline fracture 100 cm deep x 50 m wide and then move 40 cm before stopping. Fracture initiated from shallow snow beside the slope. The pending deep freeze may reduce avalanche activity, but as I observed today - triggering is still very possible. Grant Statham 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmckay Posted February 17, 2006 Author Share Posted February 17, 2006 The last few days have been spent working on a CAA Level 2 course based in Golden, with field trips to Kicking Horse, Bow Summit area, and Rogers Pass. Kicking Horse, Feb 11-13 The main story is a weak facet layer (no Xmas crust in this area) taking up the bottom third or so of a snowpack that varies quite a bit in it's depth, from 120 to 220 cm. In deep areas there were no results from our testing on this weak layer, while in shallow areas easy shears were recorded. This to me means we should stick to fairly simple terrain features, not too steep and with few convexities or starting points such as rocks. Stay in areas where the snow depth is at least 150 cm, preferably deeper. Surface windslabs are also a concern at Kicking Horse. Bow Summit, Feb 14 Similar to Kicking Horse although for the most part the weak facet layer at the bottom is actually stronger and shows harder test results. All the same, variability is great in the Rockies and the cautions we had for Kicking Horse held here too. Rogers Pass, Feb 15 (Fidelity area) The only significant weaknesses observed in the upper snowpack was a weak layer 10 -20 cm from the surface, which at ridgecrests was reactive where there was a soft windlsab on it. We saw an Rutshblock 2 sudden planar shear on this layer. Where there was little wind effect this layer was not a problem at the moment. The deep facet layers persist in the Pass but we did not dig down to test them. They are buried 2 m or more deep. The occassional deep release still is occurring on these layers in high elevation thin rocky areas. If it goes it goes big, with the most recent natural avalanche being a size 3 on February 14. Cornices The one consistent thing in all these areas are the numerous recent cornice falls. These often are triggering deep weak layers and large avalanches. Keep looking at what's above you! Mark Klassen Mountain Guide Corax Alpine Guides mark@alpinism.com www.alpinism.com 403/760-3337 _______________________________________________ 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmckay Posted February 21, 2006 Author Share Posted February 21, 2006 Went to the Devil’s Gap area yesterday and here’s how things are looking: Weathering Heights: Great shape, loads of V-threads set up, good stepping and bridging in the steeper part of the first pitch Anorexia Nervosa: Fist pitch is not in but it looks like one can easily walk around it on the right and reconnect for the upper pitches. Rest looks climbable Wicked Wanda, Aquarius, Sunshine: All looks good and parties who climbed it reported phat conditions Malignant Mushroom: Looks phat too! Frozen Fungi: Not in Driving: Only little, compacted snow on the road, relatively good conditions. Avalanche Hazard: Not much snow in most areas. Whatever little snow there is has been scoured and blown around. Caution in snow filled gullies, should you be able to find one! Cheers, Jorg Wilz Mountain Guide www.ontopmountaineering.com 1-800 506 7177 or (001) 403 678 2717 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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