Colfax conditions (???)

[Panos]

Hi folks,

 

I just wonder how Colfax may look like in the coming weekend.

Any clues ? Anybody who has been up there in the last couple of days (!) ?

My guess would be that with the recent relatively warm temps the new snow

/ rain will quickly become part of the wall. Any different speculations ?

 

Ibex

[Alex]

Even sitting here in my office and not having seen it, I guarantee you it's in. Thing is like 9000 ft elevation, its so far above treeline you'd need ....well....June to knock it down at this point

[OlympicMtnBoy]

Somebody go beat down the fresh snow so i can get on it next week.

[jmace]

WEST SLOPES NORTHERN CASCADES AND PASSES-

WEST SLOPES CENTRAL CASCADES AND PASSES-

 

SATURDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW NEAR THE

NORTHERN BORDER. SNOW LEVEL 9000 FEET. SOUTHWEST WIND IN THE PASSES

AROUND 10 MPH.

.SUNDAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW NEAR THE NORTHERN

BORDER. SNOW LEVEL 8500 FEET.

.SUNDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL 10000 FEET.

 

 

nice link, click temp and the rest is easy

 

http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/winds/

[Panos]

Lincoln Peak east face wall looks sheer at the map.

Are there any ice climbs up there?

Edited November 14, 2008 by Panos

[Choada_Boy]

Actually caught a glimpse of the Twin Sisters and Baker on the drive to work this morning (my commute has SPECTACULAR views). Sisters got snow as low as 6000' but have seen some significant warmth, as the upper rocks are showing through.

 

Baker, and Colfax specifically, are fully plastered with snow right now, there was barely a hint of rock showing on Colfax, just a mass of fluffy white. No opinion offered, just the facts Jack. It was quite chilly out here yesterday afternoon, and last night was pretty cold in town, but it's supposed to rain some more tonight and tomorrow.

 

Have fun getting to the East face of Lincoln.

[DPS]

Lincoln Peak east face wall looks sheer at the map.

Are there any ice climbs up there?

A couple of weeks ago while on Colfax I got a look at Lincoln. I saw no obvious, continuous lines on Lincoln. Made me way impressed by Klenke et al. ascent earlier this year.

[G-spotter]

I can see the NF of Colfax from work right now, here in Abbotsford. There are some clouds kicking around but like Justin says, it's REALLY plastered with white up there. You might have to dig with a shovel to find the ice except for the vertical parts. You might find some sloughing too...

[Panos]

Snow would not stop us provided it will not give us a ride down the face !

I am only thinking about avalanche danger... Is the angle of the snow ramps

steep enough to save us from this danger?

Has there been any wind loading?

 

Tell us more about this "Klenke et al" climb.

Edited November 14, 2008 by Panos

[G-spotter]

Has there been any wind loading?

 

I can tell you weren't flying yesterday. Winds were from the W at 75-85kmh

[Panos]

 

I see...

Thanks G-spotter.

 

[DPS]

Tell us more about this "Klenke et al" climb.

 

http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/811970/Searchpage/2/Main/60715/Words/lincoln/Search/true/TR_Lincoln_Peak_The_Emancipati#Post811970

[G-spotter]

oh hey, freezing level tomorrow will be 3500m. November = stupid.

[marc_leclerc]

It was friggin warm at the seracs today, I climbed in a t-shirt. I even went gloveless on the easier climbs...

[Panos]

It was indeed deadly warm. We were staring at Baker, first from the "Brunette" North Twin Sister (west ridge was totally dry) and today from Ptarmigan Ridge (near Table mountain, pretty rocky there still wait another 2-3 weeks for enjoyable skiing). We saw that a huge avalanche occurred at Roman Wall - I am glad we did not go there...

Edited November 17, 2008 by Panos

[mwalker]

 

here is what it looked like on sunday. lots of ice on the easy route and the lower half of the polish one but lots of falling ice/rocks and flowing water.

[danhelmstadter]

wow - looks like a lot of snow out of that last storm.

 

Panos -- could you see wether it was a slab avi or loose/wet snow?

i would like to check out the roman wall with an inclinonometer, it seems like the angle up there is just under 30 -- thirty degres being the magic slab(dry) avi degree number.

[Panos]

I cannot say really. Not only I did not have binoculars but I did not even have a camera to zoom, or at least my glasses... ha ha!

 

But my friends could see better. One thing is certain, that the Roman Wall faces south and it was a very warm day with warm air blowing from the ocean.

Edited November 18, 2008 by Panos

[cbcbd]

Dan, hard to tell... this is the zoomiest pic taken. Downloading the full size might give more clues

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/dougseitz/NorthTwinSister111508#5269807141733924594

[JoshK]

Just from my rough memory, I seem to recall the Roman Wall being a perfect angle to slide and make life miserable. When I skied it, it was a very nice skiing angle, which generally means good slide angle too.

[danhelmstadter]

I will measure the angle next time i'm up there, my guess is that there are a few spots which hold snow steep enough to slide, and also it probally gets loaded enough to considerably ramp up the slope angle. Also wet slabs can cut out a few dgs lower than the 30dg< non-wet slab dg angle. (I'd estimate the RM to be around 25 dg, prolly falling down to low 20s lower down but with a section or two around 30 at the steepest point higher up. Point release, and loose wet slides can definetly slide at a much lower angle.

 

The Park Headwall on the other hand is fairly steep, but i dont think quite steep enough to not pose a considerable avalanche threat after storms. (very steep stuff gen. 55+ usally self avi controls by constantly sluffing off) anyone have any insight or experience about avi potential on the PHW?

[John_Scurlock]

On July 22, 1939, six WWU students were killed in a large avalanche on the Roman Wall. Here is a gallery of images from that event, that I have had up on my website for some time. It has been hidden from the public, I've changed that this afternoon so it is now visible:

 

http://www.pbase.com/nolock/bkr1939avy - click on the individual thumbnails to see the full images. 'Original' will show the largest uploaded size.

 

These photographs were given to me by Austin Post. He is not sure who the photographer is on the historical shots; I gave the images over to Lowell, and he put them into the Mountaineer's archives, where they now reside. There is one image of mine which shows the approximate slide path. There are also several images of the memorial cairn on the campus of WWU, just to the north of Old Main. It is a very interesting spot, and I recommend visiting it if you are in the area.

 

Regarding the Park Headwall, I would think it is among the most dangerous slopes on Baker, based on what I have seen there: http://www.pbase.com/image/42292868 and the next image, http://www.pbase.com/nolock/image/42292869 - this gigantic fracture line was estimated to be at least a quarter mile in length, and the slide traveled, in my estimate, about a mile downslope. This fracture was visible when I was about seven miles east of Baker, and that is one of the reasons I went over there on that particular day. Clearly, the huge snow accumulations on Baker give potential for rather large depth of fracture.

 

The other rather risky area on Baker, in my opinion, is on the Boulder Glacier below the upper EF of Sherman Peak, where the large (& typically summer) lahar/avalanche/debris flow events occur every five to fifteen years, the frequency being not well known.

[olyclimber]

Wow, interesting history there John. I went to school there, and probably walked by that several times and never noticed that. I'll have to check it out next time I stop by the Ham. Thanks.

[danhelmstadter]

John, thanks for the photos. I will visit the memorial, what a terrible accident.

It's probally safe to say that the slab was a wet slab (can initate at 25dgs) - given the time of year, I am still not convinced that the Roman Wall has slab potential during the cold periods of winter, all-though it very well may, and even if it is not quite 30dgs - it sure is close.

 

Very interesting pictures of the Park Headwall. It's noteable that in both images - the fracture line was well below the steepest upper part of the headwall. Also - the wind lip is evidence of where the heaviest wind transport took place (the part of the headwall directly below and skiers right of the true summit does not have a windlip - and the fracture does not appear to extend that far over. It would be interesting to dig into the NWAC's archives to see what they had to say about the snowpack during that period.

Edited November 21, 2008 by danhelmstadter

[John_Scurlock]

Agree, I have never seen an avalanche on Roman Wall, winter or summer. But since I got those pics from Austin, the thought crosses my mind from time to time, especially on those spring/summer days when I have been around there early and seen a line of folks headed up that route. Ya do kinda wonder what was going on weather-wise just prior to the '39 accident.

 

Also, yes, I'd be surprised to see anything big above that line on Park. Even in the thick of winter, you can usually see some of the ice there, indicating the low accumulation/retention at that steep angle.

 

Bear in mind I'm no avy expert, just an interested observer. But I've been lucky to see a lot of them, believe me.