Rockies

[glassgowkiss]

The conditions are unreal, totally stable snow. We walked to the base of Nemesis a couple of days ago and the gully under Riptide is all hard packed snow (we used crampons for the descent.

South and West facing stuff is falling apart, but alpine and high/North facing is in prime condition right now.

 

[Matt Kidd]

How did Nemesis look?

[daler]

I would still use some extreme caution. There are a lot of hard slabs sitting over a bunch of facets. This can lure you into thinking things are stable. I'm sure some things are but in general the rockies snow pack is a bad as it has been in a while. Stay safe out there.

[G-spotter]

Ya, Bob you say it's great but meanwhile:

http://www.gravsports-ice.com/icethreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=6352&gonew=1#UNREAD

[trainwreck]

I have a feeling Will took a really shitty approach line in that post. I know the route he was heading for and there's a much easier, safer and faster approach that he failed to consider.

[glassgowkiss]

I would still use some extreme caution. There are a lot of hard slabs sitting over a bunch of facets. This can lure you into thinking things are stable. I'm sure some things are but in general the rockies snow pack is a bad as it has been in a while. Stay safe out there.

Dale, it is true to the extent. But the avi forecast is moderate even in the alpine (which is rather rare). while we saw a lot of natural activity on S and SW slopes, I only saw old, old debris from several days to weeks ago on N slopes.

We walked to the base of Nemesis without skis- when were you able to do so last time?

[daler]

I would still use some extreme caution. There are a lot of hard slabs sitting over a bunch of facets. This can lure you into thinking things are stable. I'm sure some things are but in general the rockies snow pack is a bad as it has been in a while. Stay safe out there.

Dale, it is true to the extent. But the avi forecast is moderate even in the alpine (which is rather rare). while we saw a lot of natural activity on S and SW slopes, I only saw old, old debris from several days to weeks ago on N slopes.

We walked to the base of Nemesis without skis- when were you able to do so last time?

 

Just making sure folks know there are still some very touchy places out there. BTW I a have walked in and out of Nemesis at least four times without skis(without postholing) the last time being last year:)

[coug4]

Granted, this is Montana but there is something to be learned from this one.

 

http://www.mtavalanche.com/video/youtube

 

http://www.mtavalanche.com/advisory/10/02/17

 

"Extreme luck was involved that no one was injured or killed". In particular, listen to the very end of Doug's audio in the second link to get the full impact from a very experienced Avy professional.

 

 

 

From the GNFAC website:

 

" SADDLE PEAK AVALANCHE

 

Take a hard look at the photos. If you skied off the summit on Monday and find that your tracks are now obliterated, I'm asking, "What did you do to arrive at the decision to ski that slope?" Now that it slid there's no real argument about whether it was stable or not. It wasn't. But hundreds thought it was good to go. Perhaps I would have been one of them. But I know I'd want to puke looking at those photos knowing how close I would have been to dying. Seeing other tracks in fresh powder is commonly mistaken as a sign of stability, but it's not. Folks think that slopes that get skied often are safer because the weak layer gets broken down and compacted by the tracks. But in this case the weak layer was impervious to tracks because it was preserved under a supportable hard slab. Supportable until yesterday.

 

Three inches of snow water equivalency fell in under 48 hours. Strong winds created drifts adding even more weight. And facets hibernating deep in the pack finally couldn't hold up any more snow. That's what happened.

 

We are extremely lucky. I could just as easily be writing my condolences to 15 families this morning. Many people would have died if the slope slid the day before or a few hours later. Most days skiers are stacked on top of one another exposed to avalanches from above. Luckily it was triggered early in the day with few skiers around. Consider this avalanche the one and only free wakeup call we'll ever get. There's a lot to learn. The slope slid on a beautiful day with many tracks on it. It was undeniably unstable yet provides us with an opportunity to re evaluate how we ski, make decisions and travel in the sidecountry. "

 

Just sayin'

[Tyler_Durden]

My how things change so quickly.

 

http://www.gravsports-ice.com/icethreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=6486#Post6486

 

Hey everyone,

Things are super dicey out there. I went for a tour with some guests on a crevasse rescue/glacier travel course up towards Crowfoot Mountain/glacier- we could not proceed safely past the midway terminal moraines! The new snow (30-50cms) has come down not only with wind as the CAA has noted, but also with more moisture content. The two factors combine to form a settlement and/or windslab in the storm snow that is 30-50cm thick overlying very resistant surface hoar. I triggered two separate avalanches remotely, one from 200 meters away. Skied to the top of the gulley avalanche and inspected the crown line. Quite surprised to see how resilient the dirty hoar was. Much of the surface hoar remained and was upright. Take care out there,

Eric Dumerac ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide