Western Canada/October/icefields

[jmckay]

Observations from several guides working in the Columbia icefields the last few days.

The storm snow from last week has been subjected to some melt freeze cycles up to at least 3400m. The resultant crust in largely unsupportive and makes for somewhat difficult trail breaking where no trail exists. (shin scrapping). Boot penetration ranges from 0-30cm. North glacier, North Face bypass, and silverhorn routes were all climbed on Saturday. Good conditions were found on all. Mostly snow climbing with good footing on the silverhorn with a few bare ice sections. Nface bypass good snow steps, upper rock ridge snow covered. Good track on N glacier ramp. N face looked great with a mix of bare ice and some snow patches, crux pitch looked like rock not ice.

Generally cool conditions throughout the trip with above freezing temps (+5) in campground in the mornings, but at glacier elevations things stayed frozen all day (yesterday). Last night there was a trace of new snow right to valley bottom, and a good freeze in the campground (-1@0700).

No avalanche observations but evidence of moist sluffs and pinwheeling from last week’s warm daytime temps.

Looks like some mixed alpine routes are coming in, but after our warm summer, lots are looking fairly dry.

 

Melt freeze crust could provide a sliding layer with the next major snow/ wind event.

 

Cheers

Jeff Honig- Mountain Guide

 

 

Jeff Honig

Mountain Guide

Alpine Addictions

Box 1106

Revelstoke BC

V0E2S0

(250)837-2215 (home)

(240)837-1333 (cell)

jeff@alpineaddictions.com

[jmckay]

Climbed Wooley and Diadem today via the S Face of Wooley (from the Alberta Hut) and the intervening ridge between the two peaks to Diadem.

 

2 cm of new snow last night at the hut resulted in variable new snow distribution on the peaks. Up to knee deep in isolated drifts, generally far less than that with many areas scoured from gusty westerly winds. It was reasonably easy to work around the loaded areas. That said there has been some loading on E and NE slopes, and I noticed that there were facets under the new snow on shaded slopes.

 

Descent was made down the the gully that drops SE from the col between the two peaks. Icefall hazard here in the lower part of the gully.

 

It stayed fairly cool all day with the new snow staying dry except on steep S facing lower elevation areas protected from the wind.

 

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.

[jmckay]

I was out a few days ago to replace the anchors on

"yak crack" on yak peak. Unfortunately we got stormed

off at half way but we still managed to replace the

hard-wear up to pitch 6. This is were the new bolts

are.

 

Pitch one: The base of the large corner. Still in the

same spot.

 

Pitch two: 55meters up. took all the rappel webbing of

the large flake and put bolts beside it to the left.

Nice stance there.

 

Pitch three: up 40 meters. Bolts on top of treed

shrubs instead of under.

 

Pitch four: 50 meters. Go past first ledge and up to

larger one. Bolts are another 10 feet up past this

good ledge. I kept the bolts up here the same as the

FA's anchor so your ropes pull better. There are holes

drilled down and left on the main ledge if someone

wants to put the anchor down there instead.

 

Pitch five: Same spot as before. Hard to see them .

They are under the 5.9 roof off to the left above a

small stance.

 

Pitch six: Down and left from previous pin anchor.

Basically they are about halfway along the ledge to

the base of the corner.

 

 

Other notes. While cleaning a cam from the pitch five,

5.9 roof I pulled the hole flake off with no effort.

This means that now the move may be slightly harder

and that there is no natral protection at this spot.

because of this I put one protection bolt at this

spot.

 

All the old anchors came out with alarming ease. Most

old bolts came out with only a few taps of the hammer.

The old pin station on top of pitch 5 came out with

one tap! Keep this in mind when your trusting old

anchors out here on the coast. In many cases it is

possible to back up these anchors while climbing.

Remember to never trust just a few old pins or 1/4

inch bolts.

 

As well off 5 anchors I removed one 50 liter pack

worth of old rappel tat. Remember to clean off old

webbing when you replace it with new stuff. All the

anchors I replaced will need new webbing, I rappelled

off just the bolts since I was told these "mad rock"

hangers could be rappelled off. Turns out they don't

work to well and should have webbing on them.

 

Hopefully I 'll get the rest done next year. Take care

Craig McGee, IFMGA

[jmckay]

 

 

 

Having spent 2 weeks in the premier range this summer I thought it would be nice to finish off with this newly renamed peak close to the town of Valemount. Great views of the Selwyn range and of the Premiers.

Mt Trudeau is 8600ft in elevation with a start elevation of about 4200ft. ( MG 355528 on 83D14)

Start south of Valemount and turn right onto the road leading to the West Ridge Forestry Road. (Turn right opposite Mill turnoff.)

The trail head is between Km14 and 15, just past a creek on the crest of a small hill. Flagging on left marks trail head.

The road is a bit rough, need a truck or good clearance as there are numerous water bars.

 

This great trail has been worked on a lot by Valemount locals and leads into a beautiful hanging valley with numerous lakes in the alpine.

Stay left of main waterfall where it is open. Staying left follow to upper cirque. The route easily follows up a north Bowl on Boulders. Higher where is steepens cut hard right to a little gully easily leading to ridge.

It looks like people have been going up a steep dirt gully but as it was frozen, I climbed a 40ft step of rock on right. (exposed 4th class) The ridge is then followed and difficulties can be passed on left. Some of this is exposed as well. This leads to 2nd summit.

A 30m rope would suffice for short roping the steeper and exposed sections.

As well from where you gain the ridge you can drop off the back side to a small pocket glacier which takes you to the west ridge.(pic) This is supposedly easier. Glacier is pretty straightforward. This could me a good descent option, nice round trip.

Round trip about 8hrs.

Peter Amann

 

Peter Amann

Mountain Guiding

Box 1495, Jasper AB, T0E 1E0

780 852 3237

www.incentre.net/pamann

pamann@incentre.net

[jmckay]

The good news is that there are great fall conditions out there right now.

In the Rockies, the front ranges are dry and snow and ice conditions along

the divide make for good climbing. With the exception of north aspects,

snow has melted back to about 2900 metres. The bad news is that if the

forecast is correct and the big black clouds moving in mean something, this

will all likely change overnight. This may have been the last window for

Louis, Castle, Roche Miette, Roche Perdrix etc. Rain is starting in Banff

as I type. It looks like a significant amount of precip is expected over

the next 24 hours. Snow is expected at most elevations. This is to be

followed by stable weather but this time of year, routes take longer to dry

off. By Sunday though, south facing lower elevation rock routes might come

back into shape.

 

In the Bugaboos, the September snows have also mostly melted off and

conditions there are good. Again, on north facing routes such as the NE

ridge of Bugaboo, you can expect some remnant snow but it should be

climbable. The weather there as of this evening is still stable but the

next 24 hours will tell the story. Stay tuned.

 

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.

[jmckay]

 

Out on the NE ridge of Wedge yesterday.

The hut is totally re-done. New roof, door paint,

ext... As well parks Canada has built new camping

sites at the hut and the lower ones at the lake. There

is also a fine new trail from the hut to the lake.

Glacier travel was the same as usual. Going far

left in the beginning and then right at the short mid

section at mid height works best to avoid the bulk of

the crevasses. We took the glacier all the way to the

upper ridge.This still works quite well. The 200m

steep section on the right has a nice few meter wide

path of snow to avoid the blue ice. The upper bench

has no major holes to navigate around.

The knife edge section on the NE ridge is a bit

more "real" than usual. The ridge has many exposed

sections of blue ice or very hard firn snow. This

makes for exposed climb and more cation needs to be

taken than regularly. A few more ice screws on the

rack should help out. The upper face section either

has a 50 degree blue ice section or 100m section of

kinda loose rock.

Temperatures were cool all day with below 0

temperatures above 7500 ft. With these temperatures

there was no softening of the snow or ice throughout

the day.

Have fun. Craig McGee, IFMGA Mountain guide.

 

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_______________________________________________

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.

[G-spotter]

Out on the NE ridge of Wedge yesterday.

The hut is totally re-done. New roof, door paint,

ext... As well parks Canada has built new camping

sites at the hut and the lower ones at the lake. There

is also a fine new trail from the hut to the lake.

 

Too much time in the Rockies Craig?

[jordop]

Was there last year when they were flying in the new biffies (some guy named GROC apparently put his name in the wet cement )

 

We showed Parks the holes in the hut, etc. The grumbled that it was the BCMC who should be taking care of it, but wrote everything down. Nice to see they acted so quickly; that thing was a sieve

[bigwallpete]

A friend of mine was working for the crew that put it in. $20/hr fixing up huts sounds like a good gig.

 

THese guys climbed some one pitch climbs on Rethel with nothing of quality to report. But there you have it anyway.

[jmckay]

Sunday Oct 8:

 

Perren route -- there is a dusting of snow on the rock starting at valley

bottom and steadily increasing in volume the higher you go. On the Perren

step, most holds have a little snow or ice on them. Overall this made for

slower going. Past the two bolted pitches we traversed far right and climbed

the left margin of the glacier to bypass the last step ("M2") rather than

stick to the icy rock, which worked well.

 

Glacier/Mt Fay W ridge -- there is about 5-7 cm of low density, facetted

storm snow above 2700 m, 1 mm surface hoar observed. This has been

redistributed somewhat by wind, but we didn't see any major cornice

development or windloading. Still, I did kick off a small reactive soft slab

(20 cm thick & 4 m wide at the crown, broke clean and fast) right at the lip

approaching the Bergschrund, I imagine from spindrift floating down from the

steep slope above. The schrund is spectacular, but easily negotiated on the

climber's left. The slope itself was partly cleaned out by sloughing and the

remaining 5-15 cm of snow is mostly facetted and non-consolidated with

brittle ice below.

 

Temperatures: -6 C at 5 am in the parking lot at Moraine Lake, -7 C at 1 pm

at 2800 m. Little to no wind throughout the day.

 

My major concern in this area would be isolated pockets of windloading. I

would be extra-cautious, for example, of the steps on the north glacier

route on the far left (Chouinard Route).

 

Regards,

Tom Wolfe

AAG

 

_______________________________________________

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.

[jmckay]

Climbed the North Glacier Ramp on Athabasca today (Oct 12). Beautiful sunny day accompanied by a constant cold NW wind. Left the car at 5:00am (-3 Celsius) and reached the summit at 11:00am (-1 Celsius). Many spots of the track are blown over with drifting snow making for tough trail-breaking. 40 - 50cm of snow on the actual ramp traverse (layered crusts and facets) but no real slab development, yet. More snow and wind would make it spooky. We descended the AA Col which is in good shape with 20-30cm of crusty snow over the scree making for nice downhill walking to the AA Glacier.

 

Silverhorn is snowy but the North Face and North Face Bypass both looked in good shape and have been climbed recently according to the climber's sign-in book at the parking lot. The A-Strain looked pretty scrapy with the lower gully showing lots of rock and the exit ice pitch not fully there.

 

Note: The Icefields Campground is closed for the season.

 

Sean Isaac

Assistant Alpine Guide

[jmckay]

MCR Summary Week of Oct 6-12

 

The superb alpine climbing conditions were somewhat diminished but have mostly recovered after the previous system came through on the sixth and seventh of October.

Snow fall in the alpine and down to treeline was reported in the 10 cm to 30 cm range. The north facing and shaded routes are maintaining cold and unconsolidated snow, Cool nights but sunny days with higher temperatures have managed to consolidate or melt most of the snow on south facing routes, however south slopes above 2900 meters may be sporting moist, heavier snow.

There have been reports of small soft slab avalanches and moist snow sloughs in wind deposited pockets and on lee slopes.

The ever present predictions of poor weather and moisture, be it rain, or snow at higher elevations, have not materialized this week. The long term forecast for Friday and then again in the latter part of the weekend is calling for rain and snow. We shall see.

Most reports are that great alpine conditions still exist and routes are still in good shape. Snowline in Rogers Pass is reported at 3000 meters.

Travel is still very decent in the alpine but those big and new crevasses which seem to be popping up everywhere are now being hidden by blown in snow. Crossing these crevasses must be looked at with a tad suspicious eye as it is still early in the season for any significant strength in bridging. Comments have been plentiful about the amount of crevasses seen in what are normally considered benign areas.

Have a great weekend and be careful out there.

 

Dave Stark

IFMGA

Mountain Guide

[jmckay]

 

 

It is starting to feel like winter in most of the mountainous areas of western

Canada.

 

In the Rockies (Banff to Jasper) the freezing level is at treeline, with recent

storm snow of up to 10-15 cm. The wind is transporting this new snow, and

there will be some slab development. Temperatures were hovering around 0

degrees Celsius in the Columbia Icefields area over the past 24 hrs. There is

still bare ice showing low down on the Athabasca Glacier, with the wind

scraping off the 3 cm of snowfall recorded in the last 24 hrs.

 

No recent reports from the Bugaboos, but I suspect there is storm snow

down to at least the Kain Hut elevation.

 

In the Selkirks, the snowline is down to about 1300m, and as I write there are

fat snowflakes falling at Rogers Pass in Glacier Park. There is about 10 cm of

snow on the ground at treeline.

 

The forecast for the Rockies and Selkirks is clearing skies on Friday night,

with sub-zero temperatures in the mornings, and warming in the afternoon with

some sunshine. Conditions will change rapidly with the solar radiation after

this storm period, and there may be a solar induced avalanche cycle this

weekend if the forecast is correct.

 

Start to think like winter, watch your exposure to open lee slopes and gully

features that may have a significant amount of windloading.

 

Watch for thinly bridged and hidden crevasses if you venture out onto the

glaciers this weekend.

 

It is shaping up to be a beautiful weekend in the mountains, with a combination

of fresh snow, Fall colors, and sunny weather. Have fun and bring a camera!

 

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.

[Arc]

Damn.......its him again.

[Chad_A]

Thanks much for posting the reports.

[jmckay]

I was in the bugaboo's yesterday( Oct 21 ). Not as much snow as I was expecting, 10 to 15cm's at applebee campground in places where it wasn't melted off, temp there at 1pm was 0. No ice below snow on snowpatch. Nice day in there. Whoever did all the trail work good on ya. It's much improved. Thanks

Cheers

Todd Craig Mtn guide

[jmckay]

I'm sure the cold temps and snow has everyone thinking about skiing and early ice, but just in case anyone is still bare-handing it out there, I thought I'd pass on some rock conditions. I was up the regular route on Chinaman's yesterday with a guest and then on the West ridge of Mt. Buller today.

 

On Ha Ling, though some of the lower face is still quite clear of snow, much of the low angled rock has received a fresh dusting of snow and the big ledges are starting to drift over. Ice has begun to fill in some cracks and runnels as well, particularly in the upper half of the face, making the last 2-3 pitches cruxy. Despite having to excavate handholds, we still found the route to be in climbable shape and a good refresher for colder conditions ahead.

 

Despite a dry day in Canmore today, K-country is already snow plastered on most aspects, though only a dusting below treeline, and was storming this afternoon. 1-2cm of snow and ice has accumulated on the lee aspects of the ridge on Buller. Travel was still relatively straightforward on mostly exposed rock, and made for a pleasant (ish) option in these transitional days. By midday, the weather was 'freshening' with sub-zero temps and strong SW winds (60 km/h gusting to 100km/h+) blowing ice pellets which accumulated but did not adhere. Much more white than grey up there now.

 

Have at it!

 

Carl Johnston

Rock 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.

[jmckay]

 

 

I'm sure the cold temps and snow has everyone thinking about skiing

and early ice, but just in case anyone is still bare-handing it out

there, I thought I'd pass on some rock conditions. I was up the

regular route on Chinaman's yesterday with a guest and then on the

West ridge of Mt. Buller today.

 

On Ha Ling, though some of the lower face is still quite clear of

snow, much of the low angled rock has received a fresh dusting of

snow and the big ledges are starting to drift over. Ice has begun to

fill in some cracks and runnels as well, particularly in the upper

half of the face, making the last 2-3 pitches cruxy. Despite having

to excavate handholds, we still found the route to be in climbable

shape and a good refresher for colder conditions ahead.

 

Despite a dry day in Canmore today, K-country is already snow

plastered on most aspects, though only a dusting below treeline, and

was storming this afternoon. 1-2cm of snow and ice has accumulated on

the lee aspects of the ridge on Buller. Travel was still relatively

straightforward on mostly exposed rock, and made for a pleasant (ish)

option in these transitional days. By midday, the weather was

'freshening' with sub-zero temps and strong SW winds (60 km/h gusting

to 100km/h+) blowing ice pellets which accumulated but did not

adhere. Much more white than grey up there now.

 

Have at it!

 

Carl Johnston

Rock 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.

Edited October 28, 2006 by jmckay

[jmckay]

The season started very early in the Bulkley Valley. I measured 55 cm at 0 degrees by my house at 500 m elevation in the valley bottom at 0800 yesterday, and it continued snowing until 1300 on the 28th. Since then, it has been slowly clearing and cooling. The ski hill reported 125 cm at 1600 m yesterday, 60 cm of which fell in 24 hours. I called a high hazard for the Davidson Project Road on Hudson Bay Mountain.

 

This morning, I went on a helicopter check flight at 10. Debris and fracture lines from numerous size 2 and 3 slabs was blown in, but clearly visible. It appears that most avalanche prone terrain has avalanched, even terrain that does not run frequently. Debris was within 20 m of the # 7 switchback on the road.

 

At the usual observation site at 1500 m, there were 130 cm of snow on the ground.

 

The present cooling trend will probably stabilize this early snowpack in the short term.

--

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.

[jmckay]

Went to Amadaeus today with Richard Jagger.

 

10 - 30 cm of super fluff powder covering frozen turf and rocks on the

approach... 2- 3 cm soft slab on the surface.

 

We climbed the 1st pitch and retreated from a marginal ice anchor. It looked

like WI 4 with not much in the way of good ice protection.

 

The sun looked like it was about to hit the route at about 3:30pm as we bum

slid the moss!

 

 

 

Jennifer Olson

ACMG Ass. Guide

 

_________________________________________________________________

Say hello to the next generation of Search. Live Search ? try it now.

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_______________________________________________

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.

[Arc]

Thank you again for your exciting dispatches!.....

 

.......It just makes me feel like moving to Canada to become a guide there.

 

However........I like my job at the nursing home.

 

...............Just seems like more of a challenge getting a few elderly folks up and out of a chair than up a hill.

 

Same thing isn't it?

I do have to belay some!