fheimerd Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 some questions regarding the spearhead traverse how would you rate the avalanche hazards? Serious, moderate, pretty safe this time of year are there crevasse issues and if so can they be easily avoided? where could I find more information on this traverse? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeLau Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 buy the John Baldwin "Backcountry whistler" map from escape route - a whistler shop - www.escaperoute.net or http://john_baldwin.bivouac.com/ That question about avalanche hazard is strange. I don't know how to answer that. Crevasses can be easily avoided at this time of the year and well into spring if traveling the standard route A quick google search will show numerous route descriptions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fheimerd Posted March 25, 2008 Author Share Posted March 25, 2008 thanks for the info and let me clarify the avalanche question it is more a question about the type of terrain. Are there any sections of the tour where you have to expose yourself to severe terrain that if the avalanche hazard were high would almost definately go or does the standard route keep you in pretty safe terrain away from major hazards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeLau Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 It's possible to mitigate avalanche exposure pretty easily on this trip. Because so much of the trip is on glaciers, its easier to control risk if visibility is good. The Baldwin map is quite detailed and shows a bunch of different routes and some of the crevasse hazard. The contour lines should give you a good idea about what terrain is flatter vs steeper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulB Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Avy risks aside, the biggest challenge with the Spearhead traverse is that you have to pass through a number of relatively small cols at high elevations. In good visibility, the route is pretty obvious, but when things go murky the navigation can become very difficult (even with good waypoints in a GPS), with serious consequences if you make a wrong turn. Its not uncommon for people to have to set up camp and sit out a couple days of bad weather before being able to either continue or retreat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fheimerd Posted March 25, 2008 Author Share Posted March 25, 2008 Thanks for the info I'm thinking of going next week if the weather is decent. Definately don't want to be up there in a whiteout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.