[MCR] Rockies - Cascade Falls

Today, I guided Mike on a sunny ascent of Cascade Falls. With the current low avalanche hazard and the cold, it was a popular venue. I counted 7 parties at various places along the route.

Last week this climb had fallen down; this week it protects well. The crux pitches showcase featured mushroom climbing. Given the recent temps, the ice was a bit brittle but it softened up in the sun. There is some water on the climb but 2 parties were still able to climb the crux pitches side by each.

We enjoyed less than 5cms of fresh snow on the walk off.

Brent Peters
Alpine Guide
PeakStratagem.com

[MCR] Extension of Special Avalanche Warning

Avalanche Canada has extended the current Special Public Avalanche Warning until January 4. This warning still applies to most inland regions of BC and will now also include coastal areas near Whistler and Pemberton.

 

You can read the Special Public Avalanche Warning here: http://www.avalanche.ca/news/VKMXqCUAABBr7riq/spaw12302014

 

 

 

 

James Floyer – Senior Avalanche Forecaster

Avalanche Canada | 110 Mackenzie Ave. | Revelstoke BC Canada | V0E 2S0
Forecast office: 250-837-6405 | Centre: 250-837-2141 | Skype: james.floyer

 

 

via

Peter Tucker
Executive Director
B: +1.403.949.3587
M: +1.403.689.4324
ed@acmg.ca  |  www.acmg.ca

 

[MCR] The Queen (Maligne Canyon) and Lady Wilson

Visitor Safety out on training days exploring some of the local ice conditions in the Jasper National Park forecast region.
Climbed the Queen in Maligne canyon on Sunday. Found it to be in typical shape, meaning it's somewhat aerated with lots of mushrooms requiring good protection skills on lead. Generally going at a headspacey 4+ on the left side of the pillar. Further to the right, sometimes referred to as the King is still quite wet and dripping, doesn't seem to be getting much travel yet. The last wall on the bottom end of the canyon is in it's normal state of abuse with the left side giving the only continuous line of ice to the top. The top out on all the climbs is very shallow and beaten up and never gets the chance to fully form. I'd suggest, if we could to try and avoid completely topping out on the many top ropes that get dropped it would give the ice a chance to fatten up, save our picks from getting beaten down and prevent the periodic rockfall coming down. The canyon is very popular with the Icewalk tours and the guides are great at controlling their groups around the climbs but there is a l
ot of the unaware general public without helmets so make sure to share the tight space when knocking ice down.

Climbed Lady Wilson's Cleavage to Wilson Major Basin on Monday. The Cleavage is giving very easy travel all the way to the basin with only two actual climbing steps of short easy ice (grade 2). A reasonably solid crust keeps you out of the facets for the majority of steps right from the road and up the drainage. The first step of ice is narrow and tends to push the left foot onto polished rock with only a small lens of ice at times. This can be easily by-passed to the left in the vegetation. The rest is easy walking with a couple of short ice steps. Wilson Major is in great shape with the majority of the middle curtain going at grade 5, the longest being a full 70m strenuous grade 5 to 5+. The left and right sides of the curtain offer the only moderate grade 3 to 3+/4 stepped climbs. The lower apron of snow leading to the climbs has a unsupportive 10cm crust over facets but is not a avalanche hazard at this time. Unseen and above is a very large avalanche slope that can load up with
south winds and had most of the Wilson snow field as fetch. We have no concerns for this releasing naturally at this time and we control this slope as part of our active avalanche road control. Debris will pummel Wilson Major, the cleavage and associated climbs in the feature with extreme prejudice. Although it is in Banff National Park it is in the Jasper Avalanche forecasting region and it should be part of your trip planning to make it a habit of considering both the Banff and Jasper Park bulletins when looking to climb on Mt. Wilson and Cirrus Mountain (Polar Circus and the Weeping Wall). For up to date photos of poplar climbs on the icefields parkway and the Mountain Parks check out our photo galleries on the Parks Mountain Safety Facebook page.

Jasper Visitor Safety
Jasper National Park
_______________________________________________
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.
See http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.
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[MCR] Rockies - Ghost Ice

Was into the Ghost today. -10 when we started this rather late morning. -12 when we finished. Climbed This House of Sky and had a good look at Good Bad and Ugly. Road in was covered with 5cm of new snow but crossings were all manageable with 4WD and good clearance.

Climb itself is in great shape. Some stations with rings but threads on others. Great day.

[MCR] Northern Purcells

Ski touring today NW of Kicking Horse Resort between 18-2500m. on S'ly aspects.
Various observations for you:

Wind SW lite, gusty at times, occasional ridge-top snow devils. Air temps -7C. Light ice fog in p.m.
Scattered cloud most of the day, afternoon trending high overcast.
No new avalanche activity seen today; one old size 1.5 E-facing cornice failure at ~ 2250m. Likely Dec 24th.
Due S. steeper rolls showed 2mm sun crust.

Surface layers on these S. aspects at treeline and above remain quite sensitive to skier load. We found
very easy simultaneous shears down 30 (on 8mm surface hoar) and 50 cms. and chose conservative
ski lines in ego snow (ski pen 25cms.) away from suspect convexities.

Murray Toft
MG

_______________________________________________
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.
See http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.
See http://informalex.org/subscribe.shtml#unsubscribe to remove your name from this list.

[MCR] Rockies: Bow Summit area

I went for a few laps this afternoon to burn off the pound of bacon I had for breakfast.

I skied low angled west facing tracks and runouts on the east side of the highway near Bow Summit.

There was <1 m of snow here and only 5 cm of recent storm snow. I didn't see any recent avalanche activity. There were no critical weather inputs today.

The mid pack is still carrying surprisingly well and the skiing was silky, although I did hit one patch of rocks. I'm glad I was using my old skis!

On to the turkey...

Mark Klassen
ACMG/IFMGA 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.
See http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.
See http://informalex.org/subscribe.shtml#unsubscribe to remove your name from this list.

[MCR] Avalanche Canada SPAW

Avalanche Canada has issued notification of a Special Public Avalanche Warning that will go into effect December 26 - December 30. You can view the SPAW here: http://www.avalanche.ca/news/VJx3MiUAADKF4T8b/spaw12262014​ 

Karl Klassen - Manager, Public Avalanche Warning Service

Avalanche Canada, Revelstoke, BC, Canada

kklassen@avalanche.ca Phone: 250-837-6405/Mobile: 250-814-8981

[MCR] Ski touring @ Kootenay Pass, Southern Selkirks

Hi all,

Today I was guiding near Cornice & Buzz ridge from 1800m to 2200m at Kootenay Pass. Temperatures were in the -7.0 range, we had high overcast skies with flurries and light to moderate winds from the west at ridge top. The average height of snow at treeline was 110cm and there was anywhere from 30 to 45 cm of recent storm snow overlying the December 16th crust/surface hoar layer. We did not see any signs of instability other than minor cracking between ski track. Traveling and skiing conditions were surprisingly good considering the below average snow coverage.

There was no real storm slab cohesiveness in the areas that we skied today but given the avalanche forecast we were conservative with our terrain choices. We skied moderately steep, supported terrain and avoided convex or shallow rocky areas. When we return to the parking lot we heard a second hand account about an avalanche involvement on an East aspect near Lightning strike ridge. Someone apparently went for a ride in a size 2 avalanche and got partially buried. The person had a positive airbag deployment and was uninjured but lost some gear.

Obviously the storm slab is starting to become reactive to skier traffic in specific areas. With the forecast precipitation and winds over the next 24 hours this will likely become more generalized. Be careful out there and keep your feelers out for the devellopeing storm slab.

Happy Holidays!

David Lussier
mountain guide
www.summitmountainguides.com

[MCR] Rockies - Field - Carlsberg Column

Yesterday and today I climbed Carlsberg Column with Ray and Dave respectively. Today we experienced light snow with up to 3cm accumulation when we left at 1600h.

The central line of the climb is in good shape and protectable. Left lines and right lines climb recently formed chandelier that hasn't consolidated.

**Note: The walk off is quite engaging at this time. We watched a party carefully front pointing down the snow covered slabs and opted to rappel the approach ice in exactly 60m from a rappel station on the giant boulder by the gnarled tree (tat).

Cascade Kronenberg still looks good via the Shooter Bar approach.

Pilsner Pillar has touched down again this time on the right.

Brent Peters
Alpine Guide
PeakStratagem.com

[MCR] Rockies, Crowfoot glades

Skied the area today with 2 guests.

Avalanches: just sluffing off the Alpine faces.

Weather: temp around -5, strong westerly ridge top winds in the morning(but not moving snow locally, just Ridge tops) North winds were moving snow and creating soft slabs in the afternoon. Snowed all day resulting in 5to7cm.

Snow: 15 to 20cm low density surface snow over dense/supportive mid pack. Late nov facet layer down around 60cm was reactive in tests, but no settlements/cracking today. Ski cutting short, low consequence slopes up to 40 degrees produced to results. Nov rain crust was observed 20cm off the ground at 2150m. Average snowpack of 110cm. Crust below 2050m now buried 5to10 down affects Ski quality. Excellent Ski quality above 2050!!

Be safe, have fun!
Neil Warren

ACMG Ski Guide
CAA Pro member
www.neilwarrenskiguiding.com
403.700.4741

[MCR] Selkirks - Rogers Pass

Today I went up Ursus Trees and then continued up the ridge to 2300m before it gets steep, before skiing a couple of runs in the trees. The good news is the skiing in the upper trees is now awesome again, with 30-40cm of low density storm snow overlying the recent rain crust, quite a contrast from last week when ski crampons were required in many areas below treeline.

In the lower alpine the winds were moderate from the West with the odd strong gust in exposed areas. This had formed widespread soft wind pillows up to 60cm deep, but we did not observe any cracking, shearing or whumphing. A couple of short moments of sun revealed the faces above had larger windslabs, but we did not observe any new avalanches all day.

Enjoy the skiing.

Alex Geary
ACMG Ski 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.
See http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.
See http://informalex.org/subscribe.shtml#unsubscribe to remove your name from this list.

[MCR] Spray River Falls - Rockies ice

Climbed Spray River Falls today on the winter solstice with my guest Mark S. Best conditions I've seen on this route, and the approach trail is about as easy as it gets right now. There is a dry line on every pitch. No new snow in the Banff area as of 330pm today.
In the approach gully, there is about 20-30cms of faceted snow over ground if you step off the main trail. No avalanches observed.

Kris Irwin - ACMG Alpine Guide
www.rockies-ice.com

[MCR] Guinness Stout - Rockies Ice

I climbed Guinness Gully and Stout today with my guest Mark S. Mild temps and wet sticky hero ice all the way. Lots of new ice forming on all pitches. 2-3 cms of new snow below treeline from yesterday with no wind effect.

Stout

[MCR] Urs Hole and Cascade

Tom & I went to Urs' Hole on Cascade Mountain today. The entire gully is
filled with pretty smooth and firm avalanche debris, which made for a
pleasant "ramble" with a few shorter sections of easier ice. The "WI5 pitch"
at the end of the gully currently goes much easier (WI3+ or easy WI4) but
doesn't take screws very well. Seems like at least two of the new rappel
stations have disappeared underneath the avalanche debris. Inspired by the
Banff Film Festival ("Never stop exploring") we opted to traverse all the
way to the Cascade Falls descent route, which is an adventurous and
time-consuming (2 hrs plus) exercise. Avalanche hazard is currently minimal
in the big bowls above the Cascade Mountain climbs until the next snowfall
(big surface hoar crystals on a melt-freeze crust!). Rogan's Gully looked ok
from a distance and must have seen a little bit of traffic judging from
tracks leading to the descent route from the top of the climb. Cascade Falls
has suffered from the recent warm weather and doesn't look climbable right
now.

Attached is a shot from the crux pitch on Urs' Hole.

Cheers,
Jorg Wilz
Mountain Guide (IFMGA / ACMG / VDBS)

OnTop ltd.
www.ontopmountaineering.com
+1 403 678 2717 or 1-800-506-7177

[MCR] Rockies - Waiparous - Hydrophobia

Today with my team we again climbed another Canadian classic, Hydrophobia, after we extricated one of our vehicles from the creek.

There is almost no snow in the Ghost at this time. We walked on ground from the bog (Waiparous approach) and rarely had more than ankle top snow.

Hydro is in great shape. We climbed it in 3-4 pitches on both the left and right sides. It was mostly dry. The ice was brittle and glassy, from sublimation during recent chinooks. We were able to descend from the top of the steep ice in 2 - 70m rappels off of threads.

Cryo does not look to be in.

Brent Peters
Alpine Guide
PeakStratagem.com

From the approach.

[MCR] Steep Creek Dec 18, 2014

Happy Holidays,
I went skiing with friends today up Steep Creek on the Duffey Lake Rd.
We experienced a low snowpack as expected, but there was some skiing to be had. There was about 30cm at the highway, 80cm at 1775m, and 160cm at 2050m. The upper snowpack was right side up and we had 55cm of boot penetration in the alpine. For snowpack structure, have a look at the graph below. We had a deep tap test fail below the crust on mixed forms. The layer was down only 120cm where we did the test, contrary to our pit wall. We were able to find the dec 4 surface hoar, but it was unreactive to column tests or ski testing. There was evidence of light snow transport on lee features in the alpine and below ridge tops. We experienced mainly cloudy skies, light snowfall, temperatures around -5, and light and variable winds. As we all know, snowpack diminishes quickly below 1800m, and travel through below treeline is best done on a logging road to avoid the inevitable thrash.
Cheers
Jeff Van Driel
ACMG Ski Guide

[MCR] Lyell/Mons photos

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jonny Simms                             

ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide

1(604)815-9225

Golden, BC

http://jonnysimms.com

[MCR] Mons/Lyell Trip

Happy Holidays

Just finished a guiding trip up on the Mons and Lyell area.  Dec. 14-18th.  Using Icefall Lodge's Mons and Lyell huts.

The skiing up high above 2400m is as good as it gets.  Low density powder skiing on protected northerly aspects was the flavour of the week.  Wind scoured on solar aspects.

The glaciers are seeing good coverage.  Considering the year BC is having.  Looking almost as good as what i saw up there last april. This is due to the lack of heavy wind events the Rockies experienced last March/April.  Coverage is anywhere from 1.6 - 3 meters depending on location.  

The snow pack observations and test showed a relatively strong snow pack in the deeper areas.  The concern of the trip was a consistent facet layer buried about 50-70 cms down. Overlying a variety of old wind slabs.  This layer was producing results in the upper end of moderate and hard range.  Resistant planar results.  

The shallower, rocky areas around ridge top on the steep features is something the group consistently stayed clear of.

The group skied three of the five lyell peaks,  Mons Peak and a few other steep shots around the Crampon Col area.  We had stunning weather and pleasant temps around -5 to -10 C.

This is the place to ski now.  Go get it.

Jonny Simms                             

ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide

1(604)815-9225

Golden, BC

http://jonnysimms.com

[MCR] Rockies - Stanley Headwall - Nemesis

With Swiss friends Silvan and Sam, and fellow guide Alex, we made an ascent of Nemesis today. Temps were moderate and skies were overcast. We found a supportive bootpack to both Suffer Machine and Killer Cave. We broke trail up the final slope to the route. Height of Snow was 40cm with a weak rain crust on top.

Because of conditions and the size of our group, we broke the route up into 4 pitches. P1 we climbed on the left in the groove. Even though this looked thin from the ground, it protected adequately with gold and blue screws. P2 we climbed two separate lines, one up a pillar and another in a fun chimney on the far left. P3 traversed from the big ledge climbing up through the mushrooms. P4 up great ice side by each on the far right.

Brent Peters
Alpine Guide
PeakStratagem.com

Nemesis

[MCR] Howsons 17 Dec 14

On a short work trip to the lodge, I saw that there was a widespread wet
avalanche cycle to size 3 last week, when it rained. It looks like it
rained to 1300 m and the skiing is rugged below that. Up higher, the
coverage looks good. We found 160 cm at 1300 m. A shear test there
showed a sudden collapse 110 cm down below the crust that was buried on
20 November. This crust is only 50 cm above the ground and will be
anchored by rocks in many places, but planar slopes could be
problematic. Overall it looks like a decent winter coming up, at least
up here.

--
Christoph Dietzfelbinger
Mountain Guide, Smithers

_______________________________________________
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.
See http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.
See http://informalex.org/subscribe.shtml#unsubscribe to remove your name from this list.

[MCR] Rockies - Icefields Parkway - Weeping Wall

Today, with Swiss friends Sylvan and Sam, we made an ascent of the Weeping Wall. Slightly overcast skies and cool morning temps minimized overall warming of the route. The first pitches were brittle where the water was not running, until the sun came around.

Snivelling Gully - the lower pitch opened up during the last chinook. It's healing but is a hollow tube at this time.

Lower Weeping Wall LHS - the midpoint of this route fell off during the last chinook. It's trying to heal but doesn't look stable at this time. It may be possible to sneak up on the left towards Snivelling Gully and then back to rejoin the final pitch.

Lower Weeping Wall Central Pillar - it's a steep dry chandeliered pillar about 3m in diameter.

Lower Weeping Wall RHS - the most continuous line on the wall right now, taking good protection throughout.

All the topouts of the Lower Wall are thin or dry requiring special attention.

Weeping Pillar - P1 was chandeliered and sun affected. It was 80m to a protected belay behind the P2 pillar. P2 was steep, unconsolidated ice, wet with limited protection. We chose to climb between the fluted domes 70m to another cave belay. P3 was a hollow tube to the roof, 30m to where the angle eases. Very wet.

Little ice released from the rock on either side of the Upper Weeping Wall today.

Brent Peters
Alpine Guide
PeakStratagem.com

Teardrop and Weeping Pillar

[MCR] Rogers Pass - Asulkan

I ski toured up to Asulkan Hut and Youngs Peak 15-16 December with friends.

I concur with Lydia's previous MCR. In addition, we found a rime crust on the final step of 7 steps between 2600-2700m. Above 2700m, up to 20cm new storm snow with minimal crust below. The best powder skiing is between 2600-2000m.

2 large parties skied Forever Young on 16 December. 1 reported a Sz 1.5 skier release on the fan, skiers' right hand side, from a shallow zone near rock; and variable conditions in the couloir.

Other observations:

1 Sz 2 observed on east aspect of Leda Peak, suspected wind slab, in past 48h.

1 Sz 2 observed in a south chute of The Ramparts, in past 24h.

Surface hoar from trail head to 2200m, size depending on elevation between 20-2mm.

Average snowpack between 2100-2900m is 170-240cm.

Brent Peters

Alpine Guide

PeakStratagem.com

[MCR] Correction

Apologies for the error in my previous post. I had the dates as Nov.  The dates should have been Dec.12, 13, 14th, 2014.

Cheers,

Neil Warren

--

ACMG Ski Guide
CAA Professional Member
www.neilwarrenskiguiding.com
403.700.4741

neilwarrenskiguiding@gmail.com

[MCR] Rockies, Kananaskis, Opal Creek, Whiteman Falls

Guided Whiteman Falls yesterday December 15^th.

 

The Weekends cold snap and new snow changed the conditions considerably in the Opal Creek area.

 

The Road section of the approach is now covered with about 4cm of new snow, still not enough to ski, but some awkward snowshoe tracks were observed!

Approach shoes still felt reasonable and our feet stayed warm enough given the fast pace walk to the trailhead.

 

Thanks to the cold snap, both the open holes, on the approach pitch, as well as on the main climb, have completely formed over. The large hole on the ground below the approach pitch is still open and it's apparent that without debris plugging the whole, it is likely going to remain open for the rest of the year. Its challenging to not get your ropes wet on the rappel.

 

The climb was in very challenging conditions and was, compared to reports from the past few weeks, completely different.

The first pitch, via a fairly direct line required challenging management and physical climbing over 3 significant overhangs. Long slings proved very useful while climbing over and around the surreal overhanging features.

Reasonable protection was found but required lots of work and thought, some of the roofs were at least 3 feet wide!

 

The last pitch required extensive cleaning, every swing took at least six or eight cleaning swings just to clear the 30 or more centimeters of chandelier ice.  Sticks where impossible without cleaning and screws took even more work to place.

The previous climbing surface was completely covered for most of the climb and despite all my cleaning and efforts (I was on lead for nearly 1.5 hours on the last pitch) the climb remains delicate and challenging in the first 15m leaving the cave. After this point the climbing remained delicate due to the cold weather but provided some hands free terrain allowing me to recover from my four battles with "screaming barfies". I must admit that in these conditions, the statement "ice is easy" really did not apply!! Conditions dictate difficulty and grades don't as much.

 

Rappels required caution managing the hanging ice hazard.

 

A beautiful day with some great climbers but a surprisingly challenging climb on what is usually a route that is soft for its grade.

 
 
 
Patrick Delaney
ACMG Alpine Guide

Yamnuska Mountain Adventures

"Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value."
Albert Einstein

 

[MCR] Rocky & Purcell mountains

Hello all,

I taught an AST2 course for the UofC Outdoor Center Dec12-14th.  My students have prepared this (slightly edited) report.  As politicians say....I approve this message.

Nov 12, 2014
Jimmy Simpson Glades, south of Bow Summit

Widespread whomphing while crossing a 2000m meadow. Temp crust up to 2100m. An extended column test was done on a lee(NE) 30 degree slope in the glades. 95cm deep snowpack. We had an alarming shooting failure crack through the whole block with a hard hit down 55cm on the late Nov. facets. We noticed small (size 1.5-2) avalanches on NE aspects that did not trigger the late November or Nov 6 (rain crust) weak layers. Ski quality was very good above 2100 m, with approx 10-15cm of lighter snow over a consolidated storm slab of approx 40 cm. Below 2100 m snow was heavy and temp crust led to difficult skiing.

Nov 13, 2014
Rudi's Ridge, Kicking Horse Slackcountry
Freezing level was around 2000m with surface crust below and no crust above that elevation. Snowpack was around 125 cm above 2000m and quickly shrunk to 50cm at 1800m. Compression test on a South aspect 25 degree open slope at 2200m yielded a sudden failure below the Nov 6 crust layer.  The S slope of rudi's ridge was crossloaded by previous SW winds creating a bit of a wind crust.  It was a bluebird day so steeper solar aspects may have developed a sun crust.  East and SE slopes yielded the best ski quality.  A size two slab avalanche was noticed on a lee (N) alpine slope.  It was more than 48 hours old.

Nov 14, 2014
Lipilian Subpeak, Lake Louise (1700 to 2450m)

While breaking trail in a 2200 meadow we were creating
some shooting cracks, but no whoomphing. Steep south slopes were quite bare. A previous size 2.5 avalanche on a crossloaded south aspect petered out a few hundred meters above the 2200m hanging valley. Approx 60 cm snowpack. Evidence of old( >4days) size 1.5 avalanches on cross loaded NW alpine aspects which did not step down to deeper layers. Very thick and strong wind crust on alpine ridges provided easy and fast travel. No avalanches present in bowl below Lipilian Subpeak.  Drifted snow on top of the hard windcrust snow made for nice skiing on the descent.  New surface hoar was noted an all aspects and elevations traveled.

Cheers,

Neil Warren

--

ACMG Ski Guide
CAA Professional Member
www.neilwarrenskiguiding.com
403.700.4741

neilwarrenskiguiding@gmail.com

[MCR] Waterworks - Rockies ice

Pierre Hungr and I guided a group of 9 students at Waterworks today in Field. The ice survived the sun and warm weather of last week and there is 3-4 climbing lines ranging from wi2 to easy 3. Valley fog and low lying cloud kept things cool in the valley bottom today. We punched a trail in from the unplowed road directly up the faint drainage to the crag.

[MCR] Selkirk Mtns, St-Cyr and Laforme creeks, December 15 2014

Hi,

I spent the last 3 days guiding a group North of Revelstoke National Park. 

We found fun skiing conditions on all aspects between 2300 and 2000m. 20cm of low density snow sitting on a crust made for some sweet turns. 

Surface hoar crystals to 12mm in size were found undisturbed at ridge tops near 2300m.

Ski quality deteriorates drastically below 2000m as this was the rain/snow line during the last stormy period a few days ago.

There is about 2 metres of generally well settled snow at 2150m. Compression tests did not produce results on the Nov 9 crust buried 120cm down. Compression tests were in the moderate range 20cm down on the crust.

We avoided big convex unsupported features and stayed well away from shallow windward areas. 

We observed sledders highmarking steep and shallow terrain on North and West aspects with no results. 

Only one large fracture line was observed in the National Park on a NW aspect below a rock band at about 2500m. It looked a few days old and released naturally. Otherwise, a few small sluffs to size 1 came out of steep south face areas recently.

As the next storm periods arrive (hopefully soon), keep the potentially weak "surface hoar/facets/crust combo" in mind during your next outings.

Take care,

Sylvain Hebert

ACMG Ski Guide

250-814-3700

sylvainh88@gmail.com

[MCR] Southern Purcells

Got out for a couple of days of ski touring.  One day up the end of Mathew creek and yesterday up Grey Creek Pass.  There is active logging on Redding creek at the 2km.  So look out for haul trucks if you are heading that way. The snowmobile approach is like April, snow on the road is frozen rock hard.  Not much moisture getting on the track for cooling the radiator or the sliders.  Had to stop a few times to chip snow into the track.

Anyways snow/rain line is at 2200m elevation.  So above this elevation is good skiing and coverage with about 120cm of dense snow at 2200m.  There will be a sun crust on south aspects from yesterdays warm sunny weather and surface hoar(SH) growth on all other aspects.  The Dec. 5th layer is buried 30cm and is  well preserved SH on northerly aspects and is a thin sun crust on solar aspects.  Test results showed easy sudden planar results on the SH and hard resistant planer where it was a sun crust.  The early season rain crusts showed hard to no results when tested.  The ground facets are big and loose still.

The Dec. 5th layer is not that deep so I have not seen much avalanche activity on it but it might become more active if and when we get more snow.  Which looks like not any time soon.  So don't forget about it.  I also have some concern with large exposed shallow areas in the Alpine because of the ground facets.  Wether you find the sweet spot to trigger or pop a small slab off on the Dec.5th layer and it steps down.

Merry Christmas

Dan Madell

ACMG Ski Guide

[MCR] Rogers Pass Ski conditions

We went for a tour up to Bruins Pass and skied the 8812 bowl today.  Up hill travel is challenging to about 2000 with the combination of crust and low snow coverage. Ski crampons would be a worthy addition to the pack for the next little while. The crusts that formed during last week's warming and rain started to soften up around 2100m and were mostly gone by 2300m. The skiing was surprisingly good above this elevation, and even surprisingly good below, given that the breakable crust that was expected actually carried well enough. Test results showed that the layers of concern from November are not reacting - although they were reacting during the warming three days ago. We kept an eye out for pockets of wind slab and though it appears to be bonding well, it's still something to watch for. The ski out is fast and icy.  Take care.

Lydia Marmont
Visitor Safety Technician
Mount Revelstoke & Glacier national parks| Parcs nation aux du Mont-Revelstoke et des Glaciers
Government of Canada| Gouvernement du Canada

[MCR] Murchison Falls - Rockies ice

Fantastic day on Murchison Falls yesterday with Rob and Zach. Mostly clear skies, light winds and -6c at the trailhead in the am.
The slopes that threaten the approach trail are holding little snow and we did not feel exposed on the hike in. There was some debris in the boulder field that prob ran during the last storm a couple weeks ago. At treeline, what's left has settled out and there is a semi-supportive temperature crust from the warm weather we've had lately. Found supportive hard slabs on slopes between lower pitches.

We zigzagged up the right side of the route utilizing caves for sheltered belays. Ice was dry where we climbed. Last pitch offered featured climbing on interesting ice. Lots of new ice and a mixture of snow and ice. Felt like wi4+ but good protection was tricky to find. Ice quality varied from excellent to poor aerated ice.

Temperatures cooled off in the afternoon and it was -8c when we drove off around 730.

No avalanches observed.

[MCR] Rockies- Evans Thomas creek ice/water.

Climbed in Evans Thomas Creek wednesday and today. Still climbable today but since wednesday the ice has shrunk dramatically. An abalakov that I bult on wednesday was over 1/2 melted out by mid morning today.

As of this afternoon, Moonlight was climbable, Snowline was climbable but had LOTS of running water. 2 low for Zero was mostly gone and Chantilly's upper pitch is almost gone.

Lots of small bits of rock and ice falling today and it wasn't a great place to hang around at the base. Will likely stay kinda spooky till it gets below zero and stays there for awhile.

Trail is good with one "sporty" creek crossing.

Larry Stanier
ACMG 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.
See http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.
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[MCR] White man falls

Had a trip into Whiteman Falls today with Ian Welsted.

The road from the gate to the turn off towards the falls is snow free with a few thin strips of thin verglas style ice.

The snow was sufficiently supportive this morning heading up the creek.

The approach ice is marginal but usable, it looked worse on our way up so we opted for a mixed traverse to reach the second section of ice and the bolted anchor. I would suggest using caution but climbing the direct ice line instead.

When we came down, the ice looked and felt reasonable. However, there is an open pool at the base. It looks waist deep.

The falls looked wet with an opening in the tube near the top, left of the climbing line.

We did not climb the falls as we were there to climb some new mixed ground, so I'm uncertain if the tube is open near the top. I assume it is.

Redman soars is nearly all dry, not much ice on the first pitch.

A nice day for dry tooling and moss stabbing!

Cheers

Patrick Delaney
AG
www.yamnuska.com

_______________________________________________
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.
See http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.
See http://informalex.org/subscribe.shtml#unsubscribe to remove your name from this list.

[MCR] Avalanches in Field Ice Climbs

‎Today the temperatures were well above freezing all day in Field, with heavy rain in the morning between Field and Golden.

Wet avalanches were observed to have run over Pilsner Pillar, and also a size 2.5 wet avalanche on an adjacent path above the Field back road. The road was closed all day.

Parks Canada is rating the low elevation hazard in Yoho as HIGH. Thing will improve by Saturday when it cools, but until then I would recommend avoiding avalanche terrain when ice climbing.

Grant Statham

Mountain Guide

Banff, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks

[MCR] Skiing Kootney Fire break area Dec 8

Went for a ski up Stanley Valley on Monday.

Ski conditions were rugged and hazardous. Snow cover was pretty poor at around 40 centimeters. Ground hazards and lack of snow base made any off trail skiing almost impossible.

Some folks had skied the Kootenay Firebreak, but I certainly would not recommend it until we get better coverage.

The good news is that Ice climbing has been great.

Regards

 

Dave Stark

Director of Operations

  www.yamnuska.com 

 

 

[MCR] The Sorcerer

I know there has been a couple reports on this climb already but since conditions have changed I'll add my two cents.

My guest Elisabeth and I enjoyed a mild day and fantastic ice conditions on The Sorcerer yesterday.

The creek crossings on the drive in are pretty sporty with deep ice shelves. A 4x4 with good tires and clearance is a must.

The trail to the base is well beaten in. The entire route was dry and as of yesterday there is no cornice threatening the climb.

[MCR] Rockies - Field - Carlsberg

Hi MCR Subscribers,

Today I climbed Carlsberg and Shooter Bar to Cascade Kronenberg w friends Steve and Gina.

Carlsberg is in great shape. The approach pitches are fatter than usual taking great protection. We finished w an upper pitch (P5 in IceLines) which is in great conditions.

We climbed the first half of Shooter Bar to gain the upper ice of Cascade Kronenberg. Thanks to whoever opened up this line. Fun and full conditions.

Brent Peters
Alpine Guide
PeakStratagem.com

[MCR] Rockies ice- Bourgeau Left hand.

Climbed Bourgeau left hand today. Good enough trail with the usual little scraps of snow covered ice just below the base. 1st pitch was rather "natural". No pick holes and a fragile veneer that needed to be cleared in places. Fat ice though and good screws. Next two pitches were in great shape but we actually bailed on the last pitch as it felt way too warm to be hanging around on the fragile ice and with the slopes above.

Rappels in ok shape but the anchor on top of the 2nd pitch(climbers left) is almost buried already and may be hard to find after the next storm. It is just below and slightly upstream of a collection of rusty and bent over old bolts if you can see them.

There is enough snow on the approach now that there may be an avalanche hazard down there with the next storm. The current surface is a soft crust with a dusting of snow on top and that crust will likely get worse given the coming warmth.

Larry Stanier
ACMG Mountain Guide
laristan@telus.net





_______________________________________________
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.
See http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.
See http://informalex.org/subscribe.shtml#unsubscribe to remove your name from this list.

[MCR] **JUNK** Crowfoot Glades, Rockies, Dec 7

we a pleasant day at Crowfoot Glades skiing some of the shorter pitches up on the moraines. coverage is good for this time of year, with snow depths above thresh hold (covering ground obstacles & anchors) below tree line.

we did observe 2 settlements within the trees and another party reported several in the talus of the moraine features. we also did a compression test & observed 2 hard results in the November 24th facet layer. both shears performed with a sudden collapse characteristic. with these observations and the Banff National Park hazard rating of Considerable for Alpine & Treeline, we chose to ski conservative, well supported lines that had no risk of overhead hazard.

there are numerous tracks in this location, especially in the trees and finding fresh lines was somewhat challenging.

we did notice that there are some recent ski tracks in one of the planar slopes below Crowfoot mountain. it is possible that folks may be pushing into higher hazard terrain due to the lack of skiable lines in the more conservative choices. this is a challenge we all face early in the season when we are all keen to enjoy turns. it is sometimes difficult to remember that it is still early season & we need to let the snowpack have time to settle, especially with the weak basal layers that were formed in November of this year.

have fun everybody & ski smart!

dave healey
acmg sg
www.yamunska.com
_______________________________________________
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.
See http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.
See http://informalex.org/subscribe.shtml#unsubscribe to remove your name from this list.

[MCR] Rockies - Jasper - Maligne Canyon Ice

-9 and clear at the Teahouse this morning, zero when we finished. Canyon still has some open water flowing in spots but can be avoided to the main climbs. Ice was thin and varied but fun. Protection would be quite difficult in spots on lead. Only thing not touching down is the the right side of The Queen.

Queen:

[MCR] Amadeus ice climb

Climbed Amadeus today with MB Board and Tim Banfield.

Despite the balmy temperature and strong winds the route was mostly dry and sheltered.

We approached the route using the summer approach trail to Barrier, then moved right into the approach gully and travelled on mostly supportive hard slab and patches of scree to the base.

The first pitch on rock climbed and protected well. The start to the ice was thin but well bonded to the rock.

No avalanches observed today.

Light rain as we drove back into the Bow Valley at 4pm today.


Bowl above the route

[MCR] Twisted ice climb, Field

Elisabeth D. and I climbed Twisted in Field today. Lightly snowing, calm winds, and -8c at the Yoho Valley parking area at 0830. It stopped snowing at 1230pm and total accumulation was 2-3cms when drove off at 130pm.

We used an old approach trail that went up between the two tree islands below the route. The trail was unpleasant with 25cms of low density snow over steep scree. No slab properties in this snow.

The route has seen some traffic but the steep crux pillar had a fresh layer of ice and the climbing felt like WI5 today. The thin direct start did not take good screws until 20m off the deck.

No avalanches observed but visibility wasn't great today.

[MCR] Carlsberg Column, Rockies, December 4, 2014

Had a cold but beautiful day climbing Carlsberg Column in Field today. 

We avoided the approach pitch in an attempt to minimize our exposure time to the hanging daggers on Cascade Kronenbourg. Viewed from above it appears that all the ice chunks falling off Kronenbourg had stopped in the snow above the pitch so it may have been OK...

Carlsberg Column is in good shape with good protection and signs of only one other party in the previous few days. Left side was dry, right side was covered in running water. 

No significant avalanche hazard on the route at this time although there was evidence of some good sluffing below Kronenbourg after the last storm.

--

Conrad Janzen

ACMG / IFMGA Mountain Guide

Banff Mountain Guides

[MCR] Massey's Ice Climb

Climbed Massey's today in Field with Rob S. Fast approach from Field with up to 20cm of mostly faceted snow. The route was in excellent shape with a mix of dry/brittle and wet/soft ice. Clear skies, calm winds, and -18c in Field in this am.
Do not witness any avalanche activity.

[MCR] Ghost condition

Drove in to the south Ghost yesterday (December 3) and the driving was pretty Spicy with 35 to 45 cm  of snow . It was quite windy which was creating the typical snow drifts but we made it to the parking lot with out getting stuck with a stock Tacoma, but barely!   Our objective was Lacy Gibbet but got turned around by a cougar at the 1st lake.  Professors was the usual hook fest!  Last pitch was dry except down low.  We road our bike for a ways and had to hike the rest of the way due to too much snow.

Marco Delesalle

ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide

www.greatdividemountaineering.com