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[TR] Colfax peak - Cosley/Houston Route 10/30/2007


dylan_taylor

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Roger Strong and I went and climbed the Cosely/Houston route on Tuesday. I was really impressed by how high-quality the ice was, especially so early in the season. Really nice route in general I thought - the nice waterfall curtains surrounded by amorphous choss were quite reminiscent of the Canadian Rockies. Conditions were almost identical to the photos that have been posted - Cosely/Houston in good shape, and the Polish Route not touched down.

 

Considering how much ice was formed, with only relatively small snowfields feeding them, I have a suspicion that Colfax Peak is creating great ice routes because it has a particularly high geothermal heat flux. Just a theory...

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Considering how much ice was formed, with only relatively small snowfields feeding them, I have a suspicion that Colfax Peak is creating great ice routes because it has a particularly high geothermal heat flux. Just a theory...

 

Interesting idea, but I wonder if it could be something else...

The higher you go on colfax, the less steep the average slope angle. Perhaps because of this, the upper N face (and small pocket snowfields) get a little more exposure to solar radiation - at least at this time of year. Despite the small size of those snowfields, post-storm accumulations near ridge-top are bound to be both significant and short-lived (do to frequent temperature fluctuations from warm SW flow to cooler NW flow).

 

Topography is a critical parameter in heat flow distribution. One might suggest that even though Colfax lies close to a volcanic center (but still separated by several miles), it - being a topographically significant peak - would dissipate geothermal energy at a greater rate than flat ground - or for that matter, valleys and depressions - therefore causing Colfax (and virtually all other mountains) to have a lower than average geothermal heat flux.

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