[MCR] Highway 93 North and Maligne Road.

Jasper Park Visitor Safety will be conducting avalanche control work on Highway 93 North (Icefields Parkway) on Tuesday 1st April 2014.
The road will be closed between Saskatchewan Crossing and the Jasper North gate for the day.
No climbing or skiing in this area please.
The Maligne Road will also be closed for control work. Expected to re-open at mid-day on Wednesday 2nd April 2014.
Thanks for you co-operation.
 
Steve Blagbrough
Jasper Park Visitor Safety

[MCR] CORRECTION - Avalanche Control - Banff & Yoho

Parks Canada will be conducting avalanche control on Mt. Bosworth and Mt. Field in Yoho National Park and Mt. Bourgeau in Banff National Park on Monday, March 31st, NOT March 30th. Please no climbing or skiing in these areas tomorrow. 

We apologize for any confusion.

Thank you. 

Parks Canada Visitor Safety 
Banff, Yoho & Kootenay National Parks 
www.parksmountainsafety.ca 
www.parcsecuritemontagne.ca 

[MCR] Avalanche Control - Banff and Yoho - March 30th, 2014

Parks Canada will be conducting avalanche control on Mt. Bosworth and Mt. Field in Yoho National Park and Mt. Bourgeau in Banff National Park on Monday, March 30th, 2014. Please no climbing or skiing in these areas tomorrow. Thank you. 

Parks Canada Visitor Safety 
Banff, Yoho & Kootenay National Parks 
www.parksmountainsafety.ca 
www.parcsecuritemontagne.ca

[MCR] Highway 93N reopened

Highway 93N will be reopened. Poor travel conditions still exist.

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] Jasper National Park Closures

As of 1300 Saturday March 29th, 2014 Highway 93N from Saskatchewan Crossing to Valley of 5 parking area near Jasper is closed for driving conditions, blowing snow and poor visibility. Opening is expected for 1400 Sunday March 30th, 2014 with low confidence. Expect further closures for avalanche control on Tuesday April 1, 2014 from 0600 to 1700.

Maligne Lake Road will remain closed. Parks Canada will be conducting avalanche control Sunday, March 30th, 2014. Expected opening 8pm with moderate confidence.

Call (780)852-3311 for latest road reports for updates.

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.
See http://informalex.org/subscribe.shtml#unsubscribe to remove your name from this list.

[MCR] Wapta traverse

I spent 23-28 March (6 days) guiding the Wapta from Peyto to West Louise Lodge. At the beginning of the week travel was quick and easy with good ski conditions and stability.  The storm began on the evening of the 25th and by the time it finished about 48 hrs later there was 50-70 cm of storm snow.  Fortunately it fell with little wind and cool temperatures so remained low density fluff.  

During the storm visibility was poor so my observations were limited, however I saw very little natural activity.  Only a handful of releases in the storm snow on steep, unsupported features.  

Travel over the Balfour High Col was tedious due to 60+ cm ski penetration and somewhat tenuous visibility.  There are more open crevasses than in previous years.  I elected to use the more complex lower approach to give the heavily-loaded east face of Balfour as much space as possible.  No signs of recent serac fall, however they could have been buried under all the new snow.

It truly was the Walkta traverse as I had to walk in the white the entire way down the Vulture Glacier to the Balfour hut and again from the Balfour High Col to the Scott Duncan hut.  Too much new snow to glide, although my guests were able to mostly slide in my tracks. 

Should be good ski quality up there in the next few days once the new snow settles a bit and travel improves.  However, this may also create some slabs and wake up lower layers. 

--

Ken Bélanger

ACMG ASG, CAA Pro

[MCR] End of the Line - ice climb - March 28th

Getting close to the 'End of the Season' for this route.

 

The canyon itself has filled in significantly and we had to post hole quite a bit to get to the base of this route. Up to 50cm of new snow has fallen in the canyon off the steep sidewalls and gullies.  As a result the short ice steps on the approach are getting even shorter.

The climb was way too wet for us to even complete the first pitch – which was surprising given the –14c temperature at 0830 and shaded aspect of the climb. Fully running water down the route made it difficult to find reliable protection.

 

However, Lovely Parting Gifts was dry and in great shape.

 

 

Kristopher Irwin – ACMG Alpine Guide

www.rockies-ice.com
Banff

[MCR] Conditions in the Southern Purcells

Just back from guiding a ski touring week in the Southern Purcells, east of Kaslo in the Powder Creek drainage. The week started with cool winter conditions then transitioned to spring mid week. 35cm of snow fell over the week with very little wind. Freezing levels went from vallley bottoms to 1500m on most days. March 25th was the exception, as freezing levels rose to create moist snow to 2200m on all aspects. The surface crust formed when this snow froze was buried by 15cm of new snow over the past few days.

The snowpack is quite well settled, and we found no significant shears in the upper snowpack. The weak layers formed by the mid winter drought are buried down 160-180cm in this drainage. In some locations, this layer consists of well preserved surface hoar and still produced moderate to hard sudden deep tap test results.

Early in the week, we observed a couple isolated natural slab avalanches to size 2 from steep north facing terrain at treeline and in the Alpine. Numerous wet and dry loose releases to size 1.5 were observed from steep terrain at all aspects and elevations.

Ski conditions were excellent on shaded aspects, and we travelled extensively from the Alpine to valley bottoms. Because of the uncertainty that exists with the buried persistent weak layer, we avoided aggressive, unsupported terrain, particularly on March 25th when the warm weather arrived.

Enjoy the spring!

Ramin Sherkat

ACMG Ski Guide

Roger Yim

ACMG ASG

[MCR] Roger's Pass 14/03/26

Hello

I guided up Connaught today.  25 cm's of  storm snow fell in the past 24 hours. Temps around 0.  This storm interface has produced a natural,  widespread avalanche cycle to size 3.  Running on the previous solar crust to valley bottom.  Solar aspects in terrain steeper then 35-40 degrees.  Toured and skied the Ursus trees main conservative shot.  When on the descent, one of my clients released a small size 1 avalanche which grew to a 2-2.5.   This slide continued gaining mass and speed through the mature timber for approximately 400 meters.  Coming to a halt just before the lower drainage exit.   This avalanche  sympathetically released several other heavy narrow slides to 1.5 in the timber also running far.   No one was hurt.  The hazard was high today.  Most paths on the the North side of the valley have run except for the large drainages (grizzly etc).  Brief but strong green house effect today had me concerned for the larger paths to go.  I was glad to have finished the day.

Jonny Simms                             

ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide

1(604)815-9225

Golden, BC

http://jonnysimms.com

[MCR] South Rockies/Lizard Range...Potential for deep slabs

Spent this last week in the Fernie area teaching a ski touring course. Observed the March 14th melt freeze crust and March 16th preserved graupel layers get buried.

Through the week we received up to 100cm of storm snow. Mostly falling March 19/20/21. The storm started cool, warmed up the day of the 20th and this morning was -12. Moderate ridge top Winds switched from SW to Northerly.

We had limited observations in the Alpine. Steered very clear of over head exposure due to start zones wind loading and cornice growth. Most of our travel was Below Tree Line ridged features or supported low angle treed slopes.

In the snowpack is a preserved graupel layer about 80 to 100cm deep. 20 cm below that is the 10-20cm melt freeze crust becoming thinner with elevation. Neither produced shear results in tests but with new load is becoming reactive to skier traffic.

Today Below Tree Line at 1600m a size 1.5 was accidentally triggered. What started as a soft storm slab 50cm deep steeped deeper down another 60-80cm. Skiing a lesser angled slope one person at a time, the last skier skimmed a steeper open slope and that's all it took. This feature was small and short.

The next few days or longer will be touchy. A triggered avalanche
in open steep features will likely be deeper then you expect.

Take good care out there.

Merrie-Beth Board
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] Louise Falls

Had yet another trip to Lake Louise Falls today.
The sun only made a brief appearance during our visit around 11:30.

The storm didn't hit with as much impact as forecasted. However, we broke trail up to the base of the falls about 10 cm HST (new storm snow). I believe the area received just short of 10cm with a bit of lite drifting. None the less, we did hear the lake Louise patrol bombing runs. No avalanches were observed by our team.

The ice Is in really good shape, for this time of year, with only the usual top out that is starting to look white, it's aerated and littered with holes.

Currently the large dagger on the right of the main column can be describes as about 3+ metric tones of wet chandlery ice, unattached and barely laminated to the top.

The area above the the main crux column (Accessed from the right cave ) has a bunch of small rocks buried in snow. Currently the rocks and soil that came from the dry area above the top out, are currently a simple annoyance for your pics, if you happen to strike them.
My thought, is that once the sun comes out and starts melting the snow, rocks will start falling and add to the overhead hazard that usually increases as the warmth rises on this route.

The area above the top out:
We avoided the usual top out because of the unusual amount of snow above the line and large snow mushrooms. We climbed a line out right today on great ice and it lined up perfectly with the new bolted anchor at the top. The zinc plated bolts and stainless hangers are accompanied by a cord and quick link, all found on the wall behind the large tree that is now devoid of "rap tat".

The walk off:
The bulk of the snow in the main lower gully is not going anywhere...however there is a deep and steeper than usual pocket of snow above the gully. You can look at it or poke into it before the final descent into the gully.

The pocket is now topped off by various recent squalls and storm cycles of snow sitting above various crusts. Take care using the descent as the temperatures rise!
Today remained reasonably cold, a low of -6 with a high of -2 little to no sun affect to report as of our departure from the parking lot at 13:30.

It's the time of year to start getting up real early or relatively early and end early.

Cheers
patrick delaney
ACMG Alpine Guide
Yamnuska Mountain Adventures
patrick.delaney@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] Conditions in the Valhalla mountains, South Columbias

Just finishing guiding a ski touring week at Ice Creek Lodge, SE of Nakusp in the Valhalla mountain range. The last week of winter brought good conditions to this part of the South Columbias.

Over the week, a variety of storms delivered 65cm of new snow with generally cool temperatures. This storm snow settled to 45cm, overlies a variety of snow surfaces that were buried March 14th, and is bonding well. A freezing rain layer formed mid-storm on the 16th but was quickly covered by new snow.

The weak layer formed by the extended mid-winter drought is down 100- 140cm, and produced hard sudden planar snowpack test results in some areas, and no results in others. We didn't experience any whumphs or settlements, even in shallow alpine areas (moraines and windswept ridges). The upper snowpack is well settled.

A wind event from the northwest on March 18th created softslabs on lee and crossloaded Alpine features, and we observed several natural slab avalanches to size 2 on the 18th and 19th. 20cm of new snow on March 20th came with cold temps (-12) and moderate to strong westerly winds. We observed only loose dry avalanches size 1-1.5. Cornices are growing and looked fragile.

We managed our risks while skiing avalanche terrain by avoiding steep start zones, keeping our loads light on slopes, and choosing our regrouping areas carefully. Although the drought layer was inactive this week, it wouldn't be a surprise to see avalances failing at this interface later this spring with warming or another big storm.

Ramin Sherkat SG

Judson Wright ASG

[MCR] Coire Dubious

Climbed 'Coire Dubious' (Mills/Holeczi) on Lodder Peak yesterday with Mr. Welsted.  The route starts up the Coire Dubh drainage but moves left after the initial rock pitches of Coire Dubh or Doors of Perception.

 

The ice steps are in great shape and seem to be holding up with all this warm weather.  Between ice flows we walked on hard wind slabs up to 25cm thick that were non-reactive. As of yesterday there was no new snow but that may change by tomorrow morning with the forecasted snowfall warning.

 

As expected, the route has some loose rock but will clean up with more traffic. 

 

 

Kristopher Irwin – ACMG Alpine Guide

www.facebook.com/RockiesIce

 

[MCR] KHC ice climbs

Drove to Golden yesterday evening for some non work related reason.

The canyon ice climbs are completely done for the year most of the snowpack is gone.

Pretty Nuts is technically climbable with mud streaks and all. I would not really encourage it.

All the routes with "snice" still standing or hanging all looks in terrible shape.

On a good note: At least all the mixed climbs would be loose and muddy with plenty of elevated rock fall hazard.

Wait until next year!

This information applies for all routes West of the Information/rest area.

Cheers
Patrick Delaney



_______________________________________________
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] Lessons of Oka, Murchison falls area

Guided lessons of Oka yesterday (Saturday the 15th)

We spent most of our day under overcast skies and never received any sun.

Despite recording a low of -6C and a high of 2C the constant winds made things feel much cooler. At times, moderate to strong gusts with light snow fall and wind transported made us feel like the storm was starting early. However, despite the threatening skies and a few brief squalls, the wind blew the area clean. The only sign of new snow was snow caught in our up track. As of 17:00 yesterday there was no sign of the forecasted storm snow.

Most of the snow surfaces in the area of the "base" of the route are either wind affected or sun affected. The point is the snow is either firm or crusty enough that rocks and ice currently run a long distance on the top of the snow pack. Large amounts of new snow with wind could create some touchy storm slab conditions in areas steep enough to produce movement of a slab.

The ice on the route showed little in term of sun affect, the ice is dry and well traveled. Overall the climb is in good shape with a few short delicate sections. In places, the ice is now thin do to sublimation and aerated do to ice axe placements. Rock protection is available in those skinnier sections.

Overhead hazard, there are plenty of big hanging ice features found on the mostly rotten and sun affected Virtual Reality. The overhead hazard looked quite significant and would be of serious concern on a warm sunny day. Parties would be at risk anywhere under fall line to these features, especially on the traverse from Murchison Falls to Lessons of Oka.

We reached the base of Lessons via a new 4 pitch direct variation that avoids the overhead hazard currently generated by Virtual Reality. The route climbs a series of left facing corner systems (short pitches). The route can be described as good rock, thin ice and snow covered traditional mixed climbing of a comparable grade and nature to Lessons of Oka.

We rappelled the recently bolted line of anchors, climbers left of the above mentioned variation down to our packs.

The trail remained cold enough that we kept our crampons on all a the way to the car.

Of note: many large Avalanches were heard yesterday but there was no visual signs other than the Bow Summit area.

Cheers

Patrick Delaney
ACMG Alpine Guide
Yamnuska Mountain Adventures
patrick.delaney@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] Skier remote (1-5m) sz 3 at Bow Summit

We witnessed a very close call today with a recreational solo skier.
He set an up track on the climbers right ridge of the big slope above the regular ski slopes of Bow Summit. From the top of the slope he traversed further climbers left under the cliffs.
From talking with him after...he decided to turn around, made 1 or 2 turns, felt the settlement and saw the avalanche below him.

Avalanche details
Sz 3
NE aspect, 2500m
Steep, likely high 40 degrees
Avalanche went to ground. Likely 150+ cm plus crown. There were several features that ran as part of this slide.

[MCR] Jasper Bulletin Valid to 17:00 16th March 2014‏

Our server is still down.
Attached is today's avalanche bulletin.
 
Steve Blagbrough
ACMG/IFMGA
Jasper Park Visitor Safety

[MCR] Jasper Avalanche Bulletin

Due to server issues we were unable to publish the avalanche bulletin valid until 17:00 today 15th March 2014.
Here's the gist of it.
 
Alpine - Considerable
Treeline - Considerable
BTL- Moderate
 
The biggest issue right now is treeline and sub alpine elevations where a weak layer from February is now buried by a stiff windslab. Earlier in the week field teams remotely triggered several slabs and experienced extensive whumphing at treeline elevations. Yesterday in Whistler Creek (the drainage just north of Marmot ski hill) two ski tourers were caught in a size 2.5 slab. Both skiers were uninjured but lost some equipment. Looking at the photo's of it we suspect it was triggered on the February layer and stepped down in places to the basal weakness. This slide was again at treeline.
 
A heavy snowfall warning is in effect for the Icefields area tonight and tomorrow with up to 25cm of snow and very strong south westerly winds. This is going to increase the avalanche hazard at all elevations.
 
Great care is needed in route selection as you navigate the mountains this weekend.
 
Steve Blagbrough
ACMG/IFMGA
Jasper Park Visitor Safety 
 

[MCR] Banff, Yoho and Kootenay Avalanche Bulletin, March 14, 2014

The Parks Canada avalanche bulletin will not be published tonight. Current avalanche hazard information will be available on the Parks Mountain Safety Facebook page.

 

Conrad Janzen
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
Banff, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks Visitor Safety

[MCR] Lower/Upper Weeping Wall

Hello Subscribers,

 

Climbed the lower right hand side and to within 20 meters of the top of the upper wall yesterday February 12th with Elisabeth D. Our strategy was to leave very early for this route given the forecasted temperatures and strong solar effect on these climbs. Our timing was perfect and the sun met us just before the last pitch.

 

Lower right side was in excellent shape in the early morning, offering soft newly formed ice with lots one one swing sticks and good protection.

On the upper wall ice quality started diminishing on the second to last pitch with newly formed ice over sun rotted ice. It got worse halfway through the final pitch as you traverse from the left side and around to the front of the pillar. Lots of very wet chandeliery ice has formed over poor sun-rotted ice and no decent protection could be found – trust me I tried.  I down climbed back into behind the pillar where you can find excellent ice and we started our descent from there.

 

By 1 p.m. all lines on the lower wall were running with water and the solar effect was strong.

 

Upper Weeping Wall

 

 

Kristopher Irwin – ACMG Alpine Guide

www.rockies-ice.com

[MCR] Coast Mountain ski zone aerial images from Mar 11.

Here are a few shots from a flight I did around the coast on the 11th.

• The Barrier below Garibaldi lake, on Rubble Creek
• Joffre-Matier col from the east
• Garibaldi from the east with the part of the Neve traverse

Conny Amelunxen
MG

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MCR] Avalanche control EEOR - Mar 12, 2014

Avalanche Control on the East End of Rundle is scheduled for 1:00pm to 5:00pm on Thursday March 12, 2014. The Canmore Hill portion of HWY 742 and the "easy" Grassi Lakes Trail will be closed during this control work. All activities (including hiking, climbing and scrambling) in this area are prohibited during this time. The Canmore Junkyards remains open for ice climbing.

For additional information watch for updates on https://www.facebook.com/KCPublicSafety
 
 
Thank you for your cooperation.
 
Kananaskis Country Public Safety

 

[MCR] French-Haig-Robertson Traverse / K-Country

Myself and three guests completed this trip yesterday and found reasonable conditions given the avalanche danger rating but we also didn't venture much into avalanche terrain.

 

In the French Creek drainage we experienced numerous whumpfs; many were localized but some propagated throughout the woods around us (all reacting on the Feb. 11 layer ~40cm down in that location). Travel was decent with 20cm ski penetration in most spots and became easier as we got above treeline where recent winds have hardened the snow surface. We observed one old (~24hrs, sz. 2) natural slab on a SE-facing slope off Mount Burstall's long south ridge. 

 

The French Glacier was mostly covered with just a few patches of ice showing.  Same goes for the Haig Glacier with only a small portion of ice (that we could see) showing below Mt. Sir Douglas. The steep (40-degree & 130m tall), south-facing slope guarding the Robertson/Sir Douglas col was our biggest challenge. Fortunately, high clouds kept the sun's strength diminished for most of the day. Strong SW winds had scoured the slope but as we stood in a sheltered area below, we experienced a large, rolling whumpf. That encouraged us to stick to shallow snow and frozen scree on our ascent, which made for harder travel but kept us out of avalanche terrain.

 

Despite recent winds the Robertson Glacier was still good skiing up high. We detoured easily around a few open crevasses in the middle. We observed an old (~36hrs, sz 3) and very large natural slab that had pulled out from partway up Whistling Ridge's E face, likely sympathetically releasing another slab on the opposite side of the valley. Below that we broke trail down-valley again as well.

 

High temps were around -5, low around -8 with cloudy skies in the morning clearing up to lots of blue in the afternoon. Winds were calm rising to moderate throughout the day out of the NW. Snow depth ranged from ~100cm below treeline to over 300cm in wind-deposited areas on the Haig but averaged around 150cm on the glaciers.

 

Andrew Councell

www.mountainsense.ca 

 

[MCR] Howson Range, Burnie Glacier Chalet

This morning at Burnie Glacier a warm storm front arrived with
sustained strong winds from the SW and rain up to 1500 m. At 2:00 pm
today we recorded a temperature of +2 deg C near the top of Tom George
Mtn (1700 m) and below 1300 m the surface snow is wet.

Hazard in the alpine is currently rated Considerable, but this is
expected to deteriorate to High as the storm progresses.

Since March 7 the area has received about 50 cm of new snow and until
this morning the skiing has been excellent. The Feb 10 facet/crust
layer is down about 100 cm and showing hard compression test results
now. A small avalanche cycle occurred last Friday but no stepping down
to the Feb layer was observed. At treeline snowpack depths are around
350 cm, which is about average for this time of year. On the glaciers,
especially Burnie Glacier, there are more open crevasses than usual.

Regards,

Tom Wolfe
Mountain Guide ACMG/IFMGA
www.sawback.com
Canmore, Alberta
_______________________________________________
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 Control - Yoho National Park - March 12th, 2014

Parks Canada will be conducting avalanche control on Mt. Dennis and Mt. Stephen in Yoho National Park on Wednesday, March 12th, 2014. This affects all climbs on the Field back road. Please no climbing or skiing in these areas tomorrow. Thank you. 

Parks Canada Visitor Safety 
Banff, Yoho & Kootenay National Parks 
www.parksmountainsafety.ca 
www.parcsecuritemontagne.ca

[MCR] Dream On and Rainbow Serpent ice climbing conditions

Yesterday we climbed Dream On and one of the pitches higher up.  Dream On is still in as well as its neighbouring route.  We ventured up the canyon and the other two pitches are also still in and very fat and offer good value for their grade.  Warm temps and sun are melting things out that way, and the road in to the parking area was quite muddy and rutted.

Today we climbed Rainbow Serpent.  Aquarius is hanging in there and still nice climbing.  The first pitch of Rainbow was still nicely hooked out.  The hooked out section ends and there is a good crack at the top of the pillar.  The second pitch felt very untravelled and newly reformed.  All the previous v-threads at the top of the climb were iced over, so the climb seems to be growing!

Fearful Symmetry…looked fearful, with at least 3 big cracks across it.

Sarah Hueniken

ACMG Alpine Guide

[MCR] Banff, Yoho, Kootenay Avalanche Conditions, March 10, 2014

Just a heads up for anyone considering climbing or skiing in avalanche terrain in Banff, Yoho and Kootenay Parks during the next several days...

We just finished several rounds of explosive control on the highway avalanche paths in Banff, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks and had a good chance to look around much of the back-country terrain.  There has been a very wide spread natural avalanche cycle up to size 3 over the last 48 hours on all aspects and elevations with many avalanches reaching the bottom of their historical run outs.  This natural avalanche cycle slowed slightly today but continued again this afternoon with the daytime warming. Failure surfaces include the recent storm snow, the Feb 10th interface and the basal facets. 

In addition to two avalanche fatalities on Lake Agnes on March 8th, we also responded to a couple of skier remote avalanches triggered today. West Bowl in Lake Louise had a remotely triggered size 3 from 20m away, and Mt Fairview had three remotely triggered size 2's and a size 2.5 from 80-200m away.  We also received a report from two parties in the Bow Canyon area that had remotely triggered two size 2's from up to 100m away and another party in the Bow Canyon area yesterday reported similar results. 

Our explosive control was also very successful with approximately 80-90% of the shots over the past three days causing size 2 or larger avalanches and covering the highway on the 93S.

We expect this pattern to continue for the next couple of days and at this point we are recommending avoiding all avalanche terrain until things improve.

 

Conrad Janzen
ACMG Mountain Guide
 Visitor Safety - Banff, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks

[MCR] Bow summit area avalanches

We tried to get up to Little Crowfoot today. When we approached Bow canyon we remote triggered (from 150 m away) a healthy size 2 avalanche above and to the right of the canyon which ran into the trees above the canyon. We turned around but another party who went to look at our avalanche remote triggered another slide on a slope in the canyon which put over 1 m of debris where the trail regularly goes.

Lots of other recent large deep slabs on slopes visible from the highway including a few above regular ski runs like Crowfoot Glades. We ended up practicing rope skills on flat ground.

Mark Klassen
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] Powder Creek Southern Purcells

March 1^st -8^th Powder Creek lodge

Lila Orr and I guided the past week at Powder Creek lodge in the Southern Purcells across from Kaslo.  Overall we had excellent conditions and recent warmth did not affect the snow until March 7. The week saw 90cm of snow falling with gradually warming temps and settled to 55cm. Travel was challenging due to deep trail breaking for the past 2 days but the powder was deep and plentiful.  We were able to ski steep trees to 40 degrees but only very limited alpine terrain.  The week started with -25 deg temps at TL and ended with slightly above 0 deg temps.  We had light to moderate west and south-west winds all week that created windslab on lee aspects at treeline and above and built cornices.  The weather and poor visibility limited us to skiing mostly at treeline and below. We dug profiles on North and South aspects at tree line and found the Feb 10-Jan 28^th layer to be 100-140cm down.  This layer was un-reactive to compression tests, but still reacting suddenly to deep tap tests.  This lead us to avoid slopes with shallow areas where we thought this layer could be reactive and avoid exposure to overhead hazard during times of snowfall and warming.   Our suspicions were confirmed on March 5^th when we were traveling on a ridge with shallow snow and we remotely triggered a size 2.5 avalanche below us from 20m away.  The slide initiated in on a steep adjacent lee (SE) aspect that had significant loading from the winds.  The crown was 150m wide, ran 150m long and was 160cm thick at its deepest point and 20cm deep at its shallowest.  This was a good reminder that this layer is still a concern in the right place.  Although visibility was limited we saw evidence of a natural avalanche cycle out of steep lee and cross loaded features, and as the skies cleared we were able to see the crown but not all of a suspected sz 3 on a steep south alpine face at 2450m, we presently suspect the Jan 28/Feb 10 layer to be the culprit but can not confirm.  We also had one natural cornice failure on a steep SE face that triggered sz 2.5 slab just beside the crown of the remote avalanche.  The warmth that occurred  March 7^th created 5cm of moist snow on all aspects to 2100m.  The recent storm snow is well settled and bonding to the Feb 28^th interface.  Have fun and stay safe.

 

Judson Wright ACMG ASG

Lila Orr ACMG SG

[MCR] Trans Canada Highway near Louise

Quick update,

It's now clearing at Lake Louise. The TCH is very icy at 0730h.

Brent Peters
Alpine Guide

Sent from my iPhone
_______________________________________________
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] Jasper Skiing

Good skiing in Jasper right now. We've received 30cm of new low density
snow with minimal wind affect in the past 3 days. Skiing on Destiny Ridge,
Hilda Ridge and the Parker Ridge area is characterized by 15-30cm of new
snow sitting on a supportive midpack. Coverage is a little lean, but
improving. Skiing in the Churchill slide paths today was very good - easy
travel along the river and up to 40cm of new snow below treeline with
minimal wind affect.

Our main concerns are loose dry avalanches shedding out of steep terrain at
all elevations and new windslabs in exposed areas at upper elevations. We
observed no new avalanches in the past 2 days and no signs of instability
with skier traffic. The avalanche danger is currently rated at
Considerable in the Alpine and Moderate at treeline and below. We expect
this to increase, especially in the Southern areas of the forecast region
(Columbia Icefield Area) with the expected snowfall amounts of an
additional 45cm by Monday evening.

We did avoid pushing into a steep alpine feature today after finding a hard
slab 40cm thick underneath the new storm snow and sitting on about 60cm of
sugary facets. This was found on an East aspect at 2150m on an exposed
ridgecrest and produced easy and sudden compression test results. This is
a bit of an anomoly from what we've seen in the past week, but is a good
reminder that there is a low probability high consequence scenario in
isolated locations.

Enjoy the new snow and good skiing. Stay tuned to the avalanche bulletin
for the most up to date conditions as the storm hits the weekend.



Max Darrah, ACMG AG/ASG
Visitor Safety | Sécurité Publique
Jasper National Park of Canada | Parc national du Canada Jasper
Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
P.O. Box 10, Jasper AB T0E 1E0 | C.P. 10, Jasper (Alberta) T0E 1E0
Max.Darrah@pc.gc.ca
Telephone | Téléphone 780-852-6289
Facsimile | Télécopieur 780-852-4775
Government of Canada | Gouvernement du Canada
www.pc.gc.ca/jasper

Think GREEN! Please don't print this email unless you really need to.
Soyez ÉCOLO! N'imprimez ce courriel que si vous devez vraiment le faire.
_______________________________________________
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 Control on Mt. Bourgeau, Friday, March 7, 2014

Parks Canada will be conducting avalanche control on Mt. Bourgeau in Banff National Park on Friday, March 7, 2014. Please no climbing or skiing in this area tomorrow. Thank you. 

Lisa Paulson, Mountain Guide
Parks Canada Visitor Safety 
Banff, Yoho & Kootenay National Parks 
www.parksmountainsafety.ca 
www.parcsecuritemontagne.ca

[MCR] Avalanche Control, Kicking Horse Canyon, March 6th, 2014

The Ministry of Transport will very likely be doing avalanche control in the Kicking Horse Canyon today. We are asking climbers to refrain from ice climbing in this area for today.

 

[MCR] Mt Hector - Canadian Rockies

Two guests and I made an attempt on Mount Hector this past weekend. We followed an old skin track up to the first steep slopes of the tour, past old wet-loose avalanche debris and up a boot pack trail to the lower-angle terrain above. 1-2cm of new snow gave the appearance of adequate coverage but was only just enough to cover shallow rocks. We had to hike up a steeper moraine due to lack of snow. We roped up on Hector Glacier but turned back at ~3100m/10,000' due to very low visibility, and the increased potential for crevasse fall, as well as concerns of instability as we contoured around the right side of the glacier towards the summit. We'd had a couple of minor whumpfs on our ascent and digging at our high point revealed moderate (14 taps on a compression test) and sudden planar failures ~40cm down (presumably the Feb. 10th layer). Snow depth on the glacier itself seemed less than adequate for low-visibility travel and varied widely from 40cm to 200cm, presumably due to wind distribution. We saw many open crevasses through the snow and cloud.

 

The actual skiing on the glacier itself was decent despite being inside a ping-pong ball. However, upon reaching the moraines the quality of skiing rapidly diminished due to either very hard windslab or little-to-no-snow. We side-stepped and picked our way through the shallow spots and triggered a very large whumpf in the lee of a large, steep moraine ~2800m. Skiing was tougher down low on 3-5cm thick melt-freeze crust on south-to-west aspects; our skis suffered with lots of scratches and a core shot for me. In my opinion, this area will need quite a bit more snow in order to offer good skiing and easier travel.

 

Morning temps at the car were -26C and warmed up to -14C by 1100hrs but dropped back to -18C by 1600hrs. Cloud cover increased throughout the day as did the precipitation although only ~1cm accumulated. Winds were calm below 2800m and were light from the west at 3100m. 

Andrew Councell

Mountain Guide

 

via

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

 

[MCR] Floe Lake Burn, Highway 93 south, BC Rockies

We found slightly touchier conditions a bit further down the road than Ken's MCR report from the Vermillion peak area. We toured up the "Floe lake Burn" which is another 15KM south down highway 93 S in Kootenay park. The runs in this area are mainly steep burned forest, avalanche paths and face North East with elevation between 1300-2200m.

With the forecasted warming temps and 10-15 cm's new snow, we chose to stick to an area we knew had previously avalanched on the late Jan/early Feb interface of Facets and Surface Hoar. Although this seemed like a good plan, the freezing level rose higher than expected to around 1500-1600m and with this we saw an increase in the reactivity of this deeper instability.

While skiing just outside of an area that had previously avalanched quite large (you could feel the debris under your skis) we were able to skier trigger a size 1.5 that quickly gained mass and travel down into the fog likely travelling 400+m and becoming a larger size 2 avalanche. While attempting to stick to mellow and less exposed terrain we still managed to remotely trigger a lower angle (around 30 degree) glade/chute from 60m way. This larger size 2 avalanche failed on the late Jan Facets buried down 50-80 cm's. Both of these avalanches accrued around 1500-1600m where the warming tempurature made both the recent new snow and older snow a much more dense and cohesive slab.

With the forecasted continued snowfall tomorrow and a still rising temperature, I would suspect that there will be a natural avalanche cycle starting soon. I think for the next few days the susceptibility to triggering either the recent 30-40 cm's of new snow, but also the deeper weak layers which are closer to 1m deep now will be a concern. During this next little while it will be a good time to stick to mellow, well supported terrain with little over head hazard.

Have fun, Craig


Craig McGee
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
(403) 497-4211

_______________________________________________
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] snowpulse airbag inspection bulletin

If you have a snowpulse airbag pack, please use the link below to review an important service inspection bulletin to ensure your balloon will inflate properly if needed.

http://www.mammutavalanchesafety.com/2014/03/service-bulletin-for-inspection-of.html#more

Karl Klassen - Manager, Public Avalanche Warning Service

Canadian Avalanche Centre, kklassen@avalanche.ca

[MCR] Cookoos nest direct.

Guided Cookoos Nest direct today.
May have climbed a new pitch at the top of the first 70m of ice, a steep overhanging corner system with some loose blocks but good gear.

In general, the climbing felt much harder than the original grade given in books.

The ice goatee at the top of pitch 3 ( the one after the single bolt protected crux pitch) is on it's last legs. It's fractured and doesn't take gear and is turning into "snice" at the top out. You top out about 15 feet from the bolt.

Overall ice is plastic and turf still frozen.

10 to 20cm of new snow has fallen in the Kicking Horse Canyon during this stormy period.

We noticed some light sloughing on Pretty Nuts at 17:00 as some sun was finally coming out as we walked away from a quick hot lap on the first pitch.

The ice on pretty nuts was perfectly plastic great stick even with dull blades.

The day was cloudy with a high of 1.5C. But the snow was surprisingly light given the warm temps.

Driving back trough Field BC, all the climbing looked milky white with plenty of new snow.

Cheers

Patrick Delaney
Alpine Guide
Yamnuska Mountain Adventures







Sent from my iPhone
_______________________________________________
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] Vermillion Peak, Kootenay Park, BC Rockies

Fantastic day up there today.  We experienced numerous whumpfs (settlements) on the 30-40 cm of new snow on the March 3rd layer.  This upper snowpack is still very low density, so doesn't have slab properties, however with the warming trend that could change.  Moderate trail-breaking with a ski penetration of 30-50 cm.

I found the 10 February layer down 70 cm at treeline on a west aspect and moderate-hard reactive in tests.  Propagation tests showed potential so we kept to supported terrain.

1000 metres of face shot skiing all the way to the highway!

Much warmer on that side of the divide: in the morning the temperature warmed from -12.5 to -3.5 driving down the pass.  -1 at the car at 15:30.  

Ken Bélanger

ACMG ASG, CAA Pro

TopCog Adventures | guiding & adventure travel

[MCR] Junkyards access

Trans Alta will be doing construction at their plant starting tomorrow (mar 5) and have asked all climbers to please not walk down their road or through their plant. Using the power line access or lower Grassi lakes trail will not be affected. Construction should be done on April 1st.

James madden
ACMG MG
Yamnuska Mt. Adventures
_______________________________________________
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] Hidden Bowl (Bow Summit area), Banff Park

‎Up for a tour today and we were treated to moderate temperatures (-12 in the morning, -8 afternoon) which was a welcome relief from the latest deep freeze. Light to moderate snowfall with light SW winds, 5-10cm of fresh by the end of the day added to the 3-5cm that had fallen the previous night. 

The 10 February layer presents as a density change but wasn't reactive in the pit I dug on an east aspect in the alpine. 

We noted a recent Natural sz 1.5 that initiated below rocks in steep terrain at approximately 2400 metres, east aspect. It consisted only of lee loaded storm snow and stopped mid track.

Ken Bélanger 

ACMG ASG, CAA Pro
TopCog Adventures | guiding & adventure travel
Tel: +1.403.678.0338

Sent from my iDon't care what kind of phone you have

[MCR] North Rockies update

Just thought I would pass on a bit of a summary of some snow observations from the North Rockies from over the last few weeks.

Much of my time this winter is doing industry work around Pine Pass , Azouzetta Lake, and the Table River.

Up there we are calling the layer of concern the Jan 22 "melt freeze Surface hoar combo layer", as this is the date it was buried.
Around Jan 14-15 there was a wind event along with warm temperatures that formed a crust on which the SH formed on and then buried.
The SH is not as reactive as it is reported to the south. It is more like a stiffer crust but with the SH crystals still recognizable.

It is certainly a visual time stamp to see this crust layer in the pit wall as it is either somewhat discolored, or has small needles embedded in it.
It is about 40-100cm down now, depending on exposure to wind.
I have found this layer from Purden Mountain, to Powder King, on SW aspects in Pine Pass, and in the Table River both up high and down low.

Ski touring on Feb 19th at Pine Pass we had a few large whumpfs near treeline on a SW aspect, but couldn't pin point the culprit to the deeper PWL. (Persistent Weak Layer)
We found a compression test easy down 20cm in the storm snow, with a hard result down at the Jan22 layer. It would seem the whumpfing should be related to the deeper PWL, but we couldn't confirm this with our tests.
At this wind affected profile site the Jan22 layer was down 40cm at treeline .

We found the same layer a day earlier at treeline in the Table River, which gave easy results down 85cm, with a sudden collapse.

The average snowpack around Pine Pass is about 160-220cm valley bottom (900m), in the Table River it is 240cm valley bottom (1100m,) and over 3 metres in the alpine.

We did some avalanche control work near Pine Pass just after the strong outflow winds started on Feb 22, and only got newer instabilities to release. So far nothing is stepping down to the PWL , and we have been trying!
(the winds are still slamming the landscape with gusts near 90km out of an easterly direction through March 1. )

All in all, still expecting this layer to be active or at least remain a primary concern, but not exactly sure when, or what the trigger will be.
Have been only skiing on well supported terrain, avoiding anything of consequence and expecting the unexpected, probably like most of you out there.

Though I haven't been out this week, I expect we will have isolated stiff wind deposited slabs sitting on top of a mix of  variable layers, or scoured out to Sustrugi in some normal lee areas...could be some interesting loading patterns this week.

Windward? leeward? which is which?

Cheers,

Peter Amann
Mountain Guide

Peter Amann
pamann@incentre.net