jmckay Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 Ice Been out to a variety of areas over the past week………… “Louise Falls”- in great shape with various options for the pillar(s). There are two daggers hanging over the cave at the base of the route (on the right side ). The daggers are big and pose a hazard to those on the approach and while gearing up. On another note the mixed routes “Captain Hook” and “Lowe Impact” are now doable because of these features. “Whiteman Falls and Red Man Soars”- Whiteman’s has a WI 4+ pitch on the left to start and ends at a nice ledge. The second pitch traverses out to the center of the upper column and is solid WI5 with great gear and lots of solid hooks. Redman’s is in typical condition and is dwell protected with a few small-med. sized nuts and small –med sized cams. “Seven Pillars of Wisdom”- “Damocles” is still in but the short pillars above and below the main pillar are delaminating and X-rated in character. The first pillar can be walked around to the left with ease but the second may be more of an issue to avoid. The lower pitch of the last tier on “7 pillars..” has fallen off ….not easily visible form the road. “Lower Weeping Wall Right and Teardrop”- “Right hand weeping wall” is in great late season condition with limited sun effect. “Teardrop”- 70 meters of WI5 to a couple pitches of semi rotted WI6. Good gear was to be had but took some work to find. Been cold in the morning up on the ice fields parkway the last few mornings -20 to -25 at 0600. Pillar features are under a lot of tension until the sun softens them up. Cheers, Rob Owens Ass. Alpine Guide Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmckay Posted March 14, 2006 Author Share Posted March 14, 2006 A week of guiding in the central Selkirks yielded the following observations.... The week began with cold temps and generally stable conditions - a few recent large cornice drops onto nearby steep slopes produced only bomb holes and gouging tracks. Reassuring indeed! After a day of travel, and a few test profiles, we rated stability as Good at all elevations. During the mid-week, we received about 20-40 cm of storm snow on the March 5 surface (suncrust, surface hoar, and facets). This snowfall came with moderate to strong winds, predominantly from the SW, and temps rose to about -5C at treeline.. Numerous size 2 natural avalanches (windslabs) occurred on Wednesday and Thursday at Treeline and alpine elevations. Lower elevations below 2100 m remained stable with the exception of minor sluffing.. Also 2 size 3's were observed running in steeper terrain on the suncrust on a southerly aspect in the alpine. Tree skiing was indicated, not only for stability reasons, but ski quality. By Friday (March 10), cooler temps (-19C in the AM) and sunny, calm conditions had us poking our heads up high again. Stability tests indicated a rapidly strengthening snowpack, with one exception.....a south facing glacial toe at 2600m. As I started to cross, I felt the ol Feb 20 facet layer, weak as can be, down 60-80 cm with my pole. A quick dig yielded sugary facets almost falling out of the pit wall - 4 finger resistance! This was quite a surprise as every other look into the snow had indicated those facets were much stronger. At this elevation, the buried suncrusts were barely noticeable, and there was a consistant slab on top of those facets. Needless to say we avoided terrain features which could have resulted in a nasty skier triggered event. Ski quality was incredible all week. Nothing like cool temps and light to moderate snowfalls. Beware for the next warm weather event in the Selkirks! Lingering buried weakneses buried in the past month will likely reawaken, and surprise those who have long since forgotten about them. Brian Gould Mountain Guide Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmckay Posted March 14, 2006 Author Share Posted March 14, 2006 Was working at Callaghan Country Backcountry Lodge for the last 4 days (9-12 March). Over a few days preceding the morning of the 9th the area received about a meter of new snow bringing the total height of snow at the lodge (4500') to 510cm. During that storm the area had a widespread natural avalanche cycle that ran on a surface hoar layer (buried on the 5th). During the last four days the snowpack rapidly stabilized and reasonably cool air temperatures (nothing higher than -2 at the lodge) kept the north aspect slopes in great shape for skiing. During my stay we skied progressively more aggressive lines. Yesterday the lodge hosted K2 Ski's Back 9 competion. The runs where down steep fluted faces, bowls and pillow lines. There where no skier triggered slab avalanches, but the loose surface snow sluffed reasonably easily. On nearby mountains skiiers and snowmobilers visited many steep features. The only recent natural avalanche debris I saw was a cornice release (size 2.5) that did not pull a slab from the slope below. Amazing ski conditions. As of yesterday I'm rating the Avalanche Hazard in the area as Moderate in the Alpine, Low at Tree Line and Below Tree Line. For stability Alpine=Good, Tree Line = Very Good, Below Tree Line=Very Good Dave Sarkany Ski Guide Callaghan Country Backcountry Lodge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmckay Posted March 14, 2006 Author Share Posted March 14, 2006 The Burnie Glacier Chalet reports 25 cm new snow and 30 cm of storm snow this morning. They hear natural avalanches out of the cliffs on Hut Peak, which is to be expected. Excellent skiing. On Hudson Bay Mountain, 14 cm of snow fell with this system. We saw no fresh avalanches, but were able to ski cut the storm snow in steep terrain. There is a shear 13 cm down and another below a crust 30 cm down. Good 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmckay Posted March 15, 2006 Author Share Posted March 15, 2006 06/03/10- Tried to ski the saddleback surprize pass loop. Did not feel good about the steep slope that needs to be descended in the sheol valley. Here there was SH down 35(firm slab), CT 3, SP, Size 2mm and very easy CT<1 on SC down 10cm.. The pit was S aspect at 8200ft. NW aspect hole at 7800ft on Saddleback also had the SH layer but could not get an accurate CT as the column broke in the DH at ground( CT 7 )before the surface hoar broke. HS130 both locations. Excellant ski quality on N and NW aspects as well as low angle S aspects. NA age undetermined, size 3 start aprox 7800ft,NW aspect, Seen from a distance and crown may have been 40cm X 300 or 400 meters wide. Started just below the cliffs on Haddo and ran into the sheol valley. There were other skiers around and there was some fairly aggressive lines taken through trigger areas on the East slopes of Fairview with no snow movement. There was also no whumps or cracks Stability unobserved,poor, fair Haz unobserved,consid, mod Chris Turner, SG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billygoat Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmckay Posted March 16, 2006 Author Share Posted March 16, 2006 Completed a Peyto Lake to Sherbrook Lake trip on the Wapta Icefields on Thursday March 9th. Going in to the Peyto hut we used the moraine approach instead of the canyon. This required some careful skinning and boot packing but was easy traveling and avoided more of the avalanche hazard. Snow coverage on the glaciers in general was quite good, more than 250cm where ever I probed. We roped up for travel in a number of known crevasse areas, based on summer experience in the area. Going up to the Balfour high col we climbed up the moraines from Balfour Pass onto the glacier to avoid the steep slopes of the lower more direct route, and then at about 8350 ft contoured into the lower left hand route to avoid the serac hazard of the upper bench. This worked very well for us given the conditions. The c revasses on the way up the ramp were well covered making for good travel on the far left next to the rock, but caution is advised as the serac chunks from above make their way all the way to ski line!!! Ski penetration in general was between 15-45cm depending on wind effect. Good skiing on the way out to Sherbrooke Lake with 20-30cm of new snow at treeline. While we had limited observations due to poor visibility, we did have very strong SW winds and approx 30-40 cm of new snow in the past three days. This has formed a lot of wind slabs in the alpine and at treeline of variable depth and hardness. Several natural avalanches up to size 2 came out of steep N aspects. We were choosing gentle/conservative terrain to travel in the alpine and at treeline. < /DIV> Great trip overall!, Conrad Janzen ACMG Ski Guide & Asst. Alpine 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 March 17, 2006 Author Share Posted March 17, 2006 I just installed a Beacon Basin at Rogers Pass, on the highway side of the Visitor Centre at the summit of Rogers Pass. There are seven transmitters, turned on and off from a small black box by the entrance walkway. It was generously donated by Back Country Access (BCA) as a public safety education tool. You can now search for 1 to 7 beacons. They are buried 50 - 100 cm deep, and have small wood targets above them for probing. Please try to probe gently. Turn off all the switches when you are finished to conserve batteries. Don't dig up the transmitters, the connecting wires are fragile. Practice your transceiver skills! Jordy Shepherd 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 March 18, 2006 Author Share Posted March 18, 2006 This week I've been working a CAA Level 1 in the Lake Louise/Bow Summit area. The week initially started cold and with a fairly stable snowpack. Fairly unconsolidated surface layers, good mid-pack strength, with the basal facet and depth hoar layers not very reactive to our tests. Generally hard shears (although Sudden Collapse in quality). Rutschblocks were all rated 7 (no result). We started seeing warming mid-week, and this has led to a subtle change in the past 24 hours. In addition to the expected loose snow avalanches on steep sunny aspects, there was a report of size 2 slab on a south aspect yesterday. Today (Friday) we saw the top 30 cm of snow start to settle and form a slab but the weaker facetted layers or crusts just below this slab has not strengthened as fast. So we started seeing variable shears 20 to 30 cm down from the surface, easy to hard but all Sudden Planar in quality. This shear was reactive to the skis to and I cut a size 1 slab 25 cm thick in a steep convex roll on a south aspect at treeline. It was a very small feature but I think on a bigger slope with the same snowpack characteristics it would have propagated a fair ways. We're saying avalanche danger is Moderate in the Alpine, Moderate at Treeline, and Low Below Treeline. Terrain travel advisory: at highest elevations we expect sluffing and isolated windslabs due to brief intense flurries and moderate south winds today. Cornices are a concern at all elevations, due to their size combined with warming and windloading at high elevations. Caution for settlement slabs that lie on well developed facets on shaded slopes or suncrusts on steep solar aspects. Mark Klassen Mountain Guide mark@alpinism.com www.alpinism.com _______________________________________________ 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 March 18, 2006 Author Share Posted March 18, 2006 id Polar Circus today. Not a lot of snow fell in Mt. Cirrus area in the past 24, but (judging by the road conditions) south of Sask Crossing there was significant wet snow over the past 24. Even with overcast skies there was a fair amount of solar radiated heat penetrating the snow today at all elevations. It was -8C at the road at 5:30 and we were off by noon. I would definitely recommend saving this route (and other routes on Cirrus, Wilson, and Murchison) for cold nights, overcast days and combine with early starts (and fast ascents). I wouldn’t want to be hanging around up there much past 1300 or 1400. Also climbed Sea of Vapors two days ago. Things are generally dry and cold up on the Trophy Wall. SOV is in great shape….well protected and hooked out. The route has an extra 10-15 meters above where the route normally ends. This is the crux with 95 degree ice that is quite brittle and not as hooked out as the ice below. The approach was well broken as of two days ago. Postscriptum goes at WI5 and the traverse can be done as thin ice with good (10-13cm) ice screws on both sides to keep it at WI5+ ish. Kitty Hawk- as of three days ago was in fine WI 5 shape but the upper pitch is rotting out quickly with the direct sun it sees for a couple hours between 9-11 am. The upper slope gets the sun for much longer and this si another climb that has significant snow, ice, and rockfall hazard from above on these sunny/warm days. Carlsberg Column, Cascade Kronenburg, Pilsner- All very fat and hooked out. Cascade Kronenburg is a little harder to protect but the climbing is on solid features. Tis the season to GET UP EARLY to avoid overhead hazards (rock fall, ice fall and avalanches) and to beat the crowds. Rob Owens ASS ALPINE GUIDE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmckay Posted March 20, 2006 Author Share Posted March 20, 2006 Went for a fun tour yesterday with some friends in the Maligne area. An old trail known as the Lovatt Scout trail" leads into the Alpine south of the Bald Hills area. Start up the fire road, take the first left towards Moose Lake. About 1km or so a trail branches of right. which has been punched in. Always take a right fork. An hour up you hit a small meadow, which is crossed to the north. Eventually you end up in a nice valley where the option exits to follow the ridge line up left or climb some south facing slopes which come up directly underneath the south rocky peak of the Bald Hills. (two small tarns marked on map.) Easy terrain can be used to the top. From here just descent the easy North ridge of Baldy Peak and traverse hard to hit the fire road. The left ridge is a bit longer but scenic. Probably have to walk a bit to get over the peak just to the south. (see pic) Below treeline you don't really want to "shred" snow pack is about 50-70cm of weak facets. At treeline the pack was supportive enough to break trail. In the alpine old wind slabs gave good support. Peter Amann Peter Amann Mountain Guiding Box 1495, Jasper AB, T0E 1E0 www.incentre.net/pamann pamann@incentre.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmckay Posted March 23, 2006 Author Share Posted March 23, 2006 Spring conditions are making themselves felt early. A well settled snowpack of 280 on top of the Burnie Icefall and 150 at the lodge. The only avalanche activity in the last ten days was a size 2.5 natural ice fall triggered with many nasty blue chunks in it across the route just above the Burnie Step. Today a storm moved in and the new snow slabbed up immediately. It was blowing hard from the south and graupeling 2 cm per hour on the Solitaire Ski Peak at noon. Skiing is good on the shaded aspects and sunny aspects where the terrain is gentle. Sunny aspects have a sun crust that is almost supportive. The crevasses are well bridged. -- 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmckay Posted March 23, 2006 Author Share Posted March 23, 2006 Spring arrived in Rogers Pass with a sweat on yesterday . Very warm temperatures in the past 72 hrs and clear skies Monday have created a crust on all except pure North facing slopes. The big south faces in Connaught ck and the Hermit must have a savage crust on them. They might become corn with a couple of clear days but right now they would just be awful. The Illecillewaet glacier was wind hammered from Pearly rock down on Tuesday. Lookout col looked OK. Upper Youngs Peak was totally skied out on Tuesday as was the Dome and the terrain below the Asulkan hut. Lots of room and probably still decent snow on the Asulkan glacier from the Asulkan Pass and below Sapphire col. Good skiing on the Bonney Moraine today but spooky soft slabs in places. There was a skier triggered size 2.5 there a few days ago and it didn't feel like it had gotten any better. The Bonney trees were OK but lots of tree bombs down at 1pm and falling fast all day. The avalanche danger rose dramatically today with the daytime heating. (9c at the Loop Brook trailhead at 2pm) Not much good news I am afraid. I won't be rushing out to the Pass untill something changes. Larry Stanier Mountain Guide Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmckay Posted March 23, 2006 Author Share Posted March 23, 2006 Hi gang, Just one thing to add to Larry’s note. I was in the pass (Bonney Glacier area) on Monday and the surface hoar on the surface at that time was quite well developed (top 10 mm. or more) and if the skiing improves this will be something to keep in the back of your minds – not to mention all those buried suncrusts. I didn’t see the reported slide in the Bonney moraines but there had been a skier accidental off the moraine leading to the Lily Glacier – I am not sure if that was the same one or a different event (the way I went up I didn’t have a great view of all the Bonney moraine slopes) – the one on the Lily moraines was triggered on Saturday and involved 2 skiers. Scott Davis Mountain Guide Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmckay Posted March 23, 2006 Author Share Posted March 23, 2006 A Quiet day yesterday (Thursday) in Evan Thomas Creek. Access walk is well trampled in and all ice climbs are still in very good shape, in spite of above freezing temps for most part yesterday. “Too Low for Zero” is also still looking good and relatively dry. Cheers, Jorg Wilz Mountain Guide IFMGA www.ontopmountaineering.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmckay Posted March 23, 2006 Author Share Posted March 23, 2006 The huge boulder at the top of the main section of Tangle Falls is looking unstable. Significant erosion has occurred around the sides of the rock, and it could potentially come crashing down, especially on a warm, sunny day. Cheers, Grant Meekins Alpine Guide gmeekins@telus.net _______________________________________________ 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 March 24, 2006 Author Share Posted March 24, 2006 Spring is showing itself with warm temperatures and unsettled weather. 9 cm of new snow fell the last few days at the portal (1066 m) on the east side of Hudson Bay Mountain. The snow turned wet. However, it was still -1 degree at 1500 m at noon. The winds were strong from the south. There was wind transport, but not enough volume to form large avalanches. There will be smaller pockets - easily big enough to be trouble for skiers. At treeline, the new snow did not slab, but only sluffed on ski-cutting steep terrain. -- 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmckay Posted March 24, 2006 Author Share Posted March 24, 2006 Was teaching a Capilano College ski touring course in Garibaldi Park (out of the Elfin Lakes) for the past 5 days (March 19-23). The storm system we are in right now dumped a meter of new snow since the 21st. The height of snow at the Elfin Cabin is probably over 5 meters (our best guess). SE winds and continuous moderate to heavy snow fall were the features of the previous 2 days. Today the temperature increased and by 3pm it was rain and sleet to 5000'. Yesterday I ski cut a steep, treeline, NW aspect, lee side roll and it broke out as a 50-70cm deep slab running on the March 13 surface hoar. Today in clearing weather we saw 2 size 2 slab natural avalanches both on the same N aspects that appeared to have run late in the storm on the March 13 Sh. Also today we dropped a 10 cubic meter cornice on a N aspect slope and it resulted in only a moist surface snow sluff. During a fairly brief clearing we got to see the alpine and it did not show any sizable natural avalanche activity. As of this afternoon the Hazard at treeline in the Paul Ridge area was Considerable and the Stability was Fair. The new snow was rapidly stabilizing. But with the warming temps and rain this afternoon and evening I bet the stability and hazard is actively worsening. Seems the March 13 surface hoar on N aspects is the thing to watch. S aspects where only balling, with small point releases. The Diamond Head road was dirt with a very little amount of slush for the last 2 km this afternoon. Dave Sarkany, Ski Guide Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmckay Posted March 29, 2006 Author Share Posted March 29, 2006 Reports of slipstream being in shape might have been good, however new snow over the last 48+ hours form an isolated cell came in with some moderate winds on Sunday night and closed the window for now. Climbed curtain call on monday, given its northern aspect it is in awesome shape. Weeping wall still looks good form the road but closer inspection reveals a 3 to four inches of sugar over variable ice on the lower section. Still climbable but protection would require longer screws or much cleaning. Early start and retreat is recommended. The circus is still looking good but same ice conditions as weeping wall might be found in areas. Again early start and retreat. Howe's Peak area: Well still lots of snow and winter is still holding on. Have observed several small to mid size slides along the eastern aspect of this group. No visible slab action, mostly loose snow, probably triggered by ice or cornice failure all were located on steep terrain and gully features. Things are shedding and a few good lines are shaping up. If no new significant snow shows up a few weeks might sweep the landscape enough to improve travel and allow for some good calculated adventures. Good hunting Patrick Delaney 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...
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