[MCR] Mt Fay N Face

Friends Glenn, Maarten, and I climbed a direct line up Mt Fay's left couloir (Roth/Bern, Chouinard).

Conditions today were Scottish. The rain changed to snow at 2900m and there was limited refreeze. There was about 3cm of new storm snow above the freezing level. Since last Sunday the snow line on the glacier has risen to 2950m and the bridges over the crevasses between the top of the Perren Ledges along the direct approach to the north face were unsupportive. The W Ridge was predominantly snow covered and the descent slope was more icy than last week. The bergshrund is still filled in but the bridge was soft and had failed left and right of where we crossed. There are also some open and hidden crevasses on the flat summit glacier. We kept a rope on to traverse this terrain. 

Of note, since my last MCR the two fixed rappels on the W Ridge descent have been replaced. We found the first one on the ledge just below the old slung triangular block. The second one was above the old slung boulder.

Brent Peters

Alpine Guide

PeakStratagem.com

[MCR] ACMG Mountain Conditions Report Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued September 24th, 2014

ACMG Mountain Conditions Report Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued September 24th, 2014 It is currently a warm and wet world in most of the summary region. High freezing levels and various amounts of rain. For the weekend it is hard to say exactly what this will mean but I expect my next two days(thursday/friday) will be slippery and soggy. If the weekend forecast is correct and we get a good overnight freeze there could be some decent glacier travel and alpine snow and ice climbing. Glacier snow cover is still pretty thin. A few little cornices had formed in the last storm so if the alpine looks white, these cornices will have probably gotten even bigger without getting stronger. The rock will take some time to dry out. The alpine has had a fair bit of moisture recently so if we get a REAL sustained freeze sometime soon it could be "Runnel World"!! It is the time of year when some Parks are pulling bridges out so do check if your trip involves a critical bridge. Larches are out and there are some "shocking" crowds and traffic issues in the classic viewing places. Avoid the road rage and go somewhere obscure if you can. 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. Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.

[MCR] Rockies, Mt Assiniboine

I guided an ascent of the N Ridge of Mt Assiniboine on Monday, Sept 22nd. The mountain is largely snow covered and we had crampons on for the top 5/6ths of the ascent. Good cold snow on the way up and frustrating snowballing onto our crampons on much of the way down. 14 hours hut to hut.

The Gmoser Highway was snow free on access, and egress as of today.

Happy trails,

Barry Blanchard
Mountain Guide
www.barryblanchard.ca
www.yamnuska.com

summit ridgeline Sept 22, woodsmoke in the air:

[MCR] Elbow Lake/Piper Creek, Opal Range, Kananaskis Country

Fall has arrived in Kananaskis Country!

Just got out yesterday from a few days into Piper Creek area via Elbow Lake on a personal trip. We hiked up the Elbow Lake trail, then followed it north past the lake for 3.5kms on the Big Elbow Trail. We then hooked up with the narrower but well-used Piper Creek trail that heads northwest at grid reference 419 148. The fall colours are spectacular with dwarf birch patches turning red and orange and larches yellow. All but the highest north-facing slopes are free of snow from the storm earlier this month. Piper Pass is snow-free as viewed from the south. No recent bear sign was seen. Plenty of moose and bighorn sheep sign in Piper Creek valley.

A great option for a hike that doesn't take long to get up into some excellent views and colours. Elbow Lake can also provide some productive fishing for brook trout, and they are in their fall spawning red and orange coloration.

Cheers!
Jen Stelfox
HG
_______________________________________________
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 - Lake O'Hara September 20-21

Further to Larry’s report, we witnessed a subsequent rockfall event from Mt Odaray / Tarrant Buttress at about 11:am on Sunday September 21^st.  See photos of dust cloud and the light colored scar after the dust settled.  The snow is melting from the last big dump, so expect more rockfall to occur on Mt. Odaray as well as on other peaks in the area.

 

The larches are in superb color, it’s definitely worth a hiking/climbing trip to the Lake O’Hara area while the weather holds. 

 

Jordy Shepherd

ACMG / IFMGA Mountain Guide

Web: www.PeakAlpine.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/JordyCanmore

 

[MCR] Pigeon Spire - Bugaboos

Hi All,

Yesterday we climbed West Ridge of Pigeon Spire in a day from Invermere, access via Bugaboo Glacier. AM snow was fully supportive and there are a couple of tricky bridge crossings which we chose to completely avoid in the PM heat. Most of the ridge is free of snow until you turn the corner onto the north side to gain access to the summit, where it is still full on winter with plenty of ice and snow. We kicked ankle-to-boot-top steps around this section and cleaned out cracks for gear, again kicking steps in snow right to the summit. Spectacular bluebird day.

No crampons were used for the descent and we used the Snowpatch rock bypass to avoid the heavily crevassed glacier all the way from the rock rib that extends from the south face of Snowpatch, down to the base of Son of Snowpatch. It should be noted that the upper section of the rock bypass goes through very unconsolidated talus and scree and is generally unstable – careful footing and minimizing exposure is paramount.

Other parties up in the Bugaboos were on the sunny aspects of Snowpatch, the Crescent Spires and one party gave the Ice Hose a pass due to overhanging bergschrund difficulties and word has it that no one has been on the Bugaboo-Snowpatch for a number of weeks now due to constant rockfall.

Enjoy the great weather!

Cheers,

 

Kirk Mauthner

IFMGA Mountain Guide

Basecamp Innovations Ltd

PO Box 399 Invermere, BC

Canada V0A 1K0

www.basecampinnovations.com

250.342.6042

 

[MCR] Rockies, Lake O'Hara conditions and Tarrant/Morrison buttres rockfall.

Fine day in the hills today. Climbed Victoria via the Huber Glacier. Still some breakable crust on a lot of the Huber glacier and the gully up to the ridge but it got warm today so it should be more supportive tomorrow. Soft, dry snow only in very steep shady north pockets. Ridge is snowy and therefore somewhat challenging. Huber NW face looked good.

Lefroy still looks terrible, thin snow over old ice and rock. Hungabee and Biddle also are in poor shape and probably out for the season as rock routes. Everything below 2800m is in good shape and dry.

Notable event-Saturday afternoon around 3 pm a natural rockfall occurred on the NE face of Mt Odaray. It appears to have started about 2/3 of the way up the Tarrant/Morrison buttress on Mt. Odaray, just above where the quartzite ends and just west of where you get on a decent limestone rib for awhile. The rockfall was heard from all over the valley and produced a sizeable dust cloud. It appears to have ravaged the lower quartzite pitches. I haven't had a close look at it but I am pretty certain it would be a REALLY bad idea to try and climb that route this fall. Rocks continued to fall at intervals later that day and there will certainly be lots of dust and debris on all those ledges and lots of damaged rock just waiting to fall from the fracture.

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] Dogtooth Range Traverse Near Golden BC.

From September 17th to 20th, eight candidates
and three instructors on an ACMG Hiking Guide
Exam completed a traverse of the Northern
Dogtooth Range in the Purcell Mountains Northwest of Golden, BC.
Elevations are given in feet as they pertain to the Blaeberry NTS map(82N6).

The trip began at the Quartz lake trailhead
approximately 5 kms up the Quartz Creek Forest
Service Road. The right shoreline at Quartz lake
has scattered cairns which aid in route finding
into the upper valley. The First night's camp was
just below Upper Quartz lake near some meadows at 6900'.

On September 18th one group proceeded to Upper
Quartz Lake and ascended the moraines to Quartz
Cirque Col. An attempt was made on Old Man Peak.
This 8800' peak lies NE of the col. Another group
ascended more convoluted boulder filled drainage
to gain the col directly south of the first camp.
The ascending ridge was traversed south leading
to a col and unmarked tarn at MG 808940 elev.
8150'. This pass led down to a camp in Cirque Creek drainage.

On September 19th all three groups climbed over
the Cirque Lang Col to 7970'. We descended
easily to Lang Lake, and then crossed the basin
through treed benches to gain the base of the
Lang Rock Glacier. Several routes up the rock
glacier are possible that avoid exposure to the overhead hazard.

From the col at 7874' we descended down the
grassy slopes to Gorman Lake to the marked
campsite. There are no bear boxes or established bear hangs at this site.

On September 20th we descended 3 kms down the
well maintained Gorman lake trail to the parking
lot at the Gorman Lake trailhead. It is worth
noting that the Gorman lake road is not
appropriate for low clearance vehicles.

Over the course of the 4 days, the temperatures
ranged between +5°C and +15°C.The freezing levels remained above ridge top.

Wind and rain were the predominant weather
factors. Some notable rock fall was observed on East aspects in the alpine.

Significant portions of the route had lichen
covered quartzite talus which was slippery. At
higher elevations on the route, whiteout
conditions made navigation challenging at times.

Bear signs such as scat, diggings, and tracks
were observed in all the drainages.

Good bear hangs required creativity.



Instructors:
Peter Amann MG
Steve Ludwig SG
Matt Reynolds MG


Peter Amann

[MCR] Mt Fay Update

I guided Brad and David today on an ascent of the Central Ice Route of Mt Fay via the Perren Ledges approach. It was a beautiful bluebird day. 

The Perren Ledges are dry. The recent snowfall has melted back to about 2800m. We had a great refreeze this am that was still firm on shady aspects in the pm. We didn't observe any cornice failures or pm sloughing.

Fay was busy today given recent MCRs. All NF routes and the W Ridge were travelled, including both left and right finishes on the Central Ice Route.  All climbers reported excellent snow covered ice and great fall climbing conditions.

We descended the W Ridge. The ridge itself was dry and we did not use crampons. The N snow slope exit was quite icy for the first 30m after which it is possible to kick steps down. This bergshrund is well bridged with the recent storm snow.

Looking across the golden larches, the Big Step on Mt Temple appeared snow free. We couldn't see into the Black Towers exit gully. 

Fall alpine season is on!

Brent Peters

Alpine Guide

PeakStratagem.com

[MCR] Rummel Lake, Rockies, Sept. 20, 2014

Hello all,

  Just got back from guiding a group up to Rummel Lake today. The trail is in fine shape and is mostly dry. The larches are almost there and should peak within a day or two. While we were in the area we saw a couple of bull moose in the marsh to the south of the parking area as well as a cow hanging around the trailhead. Now that the rut has started, if you're in the area keep your head up and give these guys a wide berth. Cheers,

Nathan Dahl

HG

[MCR] Rockies - route conditions - Castle Mtn

Climbed Brewer's Buttress on Castle Mountain yesterday. 4C with fog and some sleet at the hut (2390m) at 0600 meant the first couple of pitches were a bit sloppy, but the clouds slowly opened up after sunrise under intermittent light west winds. Although the conditions throughout the day remained amazingly atmospheric, the rest of the route was totally dry except for a few metres of seepage near the top.

Despite the wintry look just a few days ago, by yesterday there was nothing left of last week's snow on either Goat Plateau or at the summit. Likewise, the descent gully was dry but had just enough moisture in the scree to hold things together and keep the footing sticky. 

There is still plenty of water to be found near the hut as well as in the approach and descent gullies and there are still 4 full fuel bottles at the hut.

Enjoy!

Carl Johnston, RG

Yamnuska Mountain Adventures

 

[MCR] ACMG Mountain Conditions Report Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued September 18, 2014

ACMG Mountain Conditions Report Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued September 18, 2014 The snow from last week has not had too much effect on mountain conditions and in some cases it has made travel better. The classic alpine routes of the Lake Louise and Columbia Icefields areas are reported to be in great condition. There have been no observations of windslabs forming and although some new cornices have been observed, the cold temperatures have kept them from becoming a problem. Despite the new snow, crevasses have remained relatively well defined. With the warm days and long cold nights, a good melt-freeze cycle is in effect. Travel should remain good, however, with the warm temperatures forecast for the weekend, the snow might soften significantly in the afternoons. Expect lots of downed trees on the trails in the Canmore and Kananaskis areas where the deciduous trees were not able to bear the load of the significant snowfall from the last week. Most south facing rock climbs in the Rockies are dry again however those that are under bowls or are high and north facing will likely be seeping. Less snow fell in the Columbia Mountains and with the great weather forecast for the weekend, many of the south facing alpine rock climbs should be in good shape. Higher, north facing rock routes will likely have some snow and ice to work through. Have a great weekend, Marc Piché 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. Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.

[MCR] Colin Range Jasper National Park

Colin Range Jasper National Park:

Over the the past week the Colin Range dried up allowing for ascents of Guides Route on Morro Peak, Cadot Crack and Mount Colin's SW Face Dir. We found all routes were dry with only some snow patches left dripping in the sun that didn't effect our lines.

Mount Colin: South-West Face Direct

The approach trail was improved this summer up to the ACC Colin Hut thanks to Peter Ammon which was much appreciated. Water can still be found running strong in the creek next to the Hut. On the route we came across the crux pitch (2nd last pitch-slab move) to no longer have a piton to protect the crux move off the belay. So just a heads up if your heading up there, A number 3 or 4 Lost Arrow would do the trick.

Ryan Titchener

Apt Alpine

Sent from Windows Mail

[MCR] Yamnuska

Hello Everyone,

I guided the Red Shirt route on Yamnuska today.  There are numerous trees and limbs down from the snow load last week on the approach trail down low.

The route is dry top to bottom but the routes to the west of the Red Shirt still had some lingering snow patches which were seeping up high as the day heated up. There is more snow on the northerly and sheltered areas on the descent trail as well but we weren't post-holing either.

We also observed a black bear today approximately 150 meters below the base of the wall.  We hollered on the way down and took the normal precautions. Taking bear spray along these days in the provincial and federal mountain parks doesn't seem like too bad an idea as the bears are out stuffing themselves and the berry crop wasn't bumper.  

Enjoy the rest of the fine late summer weather.

Take Care,

Paddy Jerome, MG

Yamnuska Mountain Adventures

403.678.4164

[MCR] Athabasca & Silverhorn

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Richard Howse & climbed the Silverhorn with guests on September 13 a rather glorious fall day. Overall good conditions with up to 30cm of recent storm snow above 2800m. The Silverhorn ridge was mostly bony and icy which made for tired calf muscles, however we would have appreciated the pickets that we did not bring for the snowy section in the middle. Despite the recent snow, crevasses were still easy to see and manoeuvre around. We observed some small point releases up to size 1 on sunny aspects otherwise we did not observe any avalanches or any slab character in the recent snow.

 

Cheers!

James Blench UIAGM/IFMGA

[MCR] Mt Fay, Rockies, September 16, 2014

We climbed Mt Fay via the Perren Route and the Central Ice Face (aka Bulge) today. Conditions were excellent throughout. There is about 30cm of well settled snow on the Fay Glacier hiding a few small crevasses. The bergschrund is well covered by recent debris and provides easy access on snow to the face. We climbed the face with a mix of snow steps and ice climbing using ice anchors throughout. Descent was via the ascent route on good V-threads. Some cornices present above the route but with the cool temps this was a minor concern today.

Some moist snow and minor surface sluffing on solar aspects with afternoon warming was observed. Otherwise no significant avalanche hazard was present in the area. 

--

Conrad Janzen

ACMG / IFMGA Mountain Guide

Banff Mountain Guides

[MCR] ACMG Asst Hiking Guide course Bow Valley and Kananaskis Sept 6-13, 2014

A group of 8 students and 2 instructors spent the last 8 days hiking,
trekking and backpacking in the Canmore, Spray lakes and Kananaskis
areas. Here are some findings from out trips.

The week started off with seasonal conditions with trips to Prairie
View Peak, Quiate Valley. and day hiking in the Bow Valley.
Conditions deteriorated late Sept 7th with approx 10cm snow valley
bottom. Snow continued Sept 8th with and additional 10cm in Canmore
at valley bottom.

September 9th we hiked up to West Wind pass where new snow amounts on
the Spray lakes road were less than in the main valley corridor, with
approx 10cm on the ground at the parking lot in the morning.
September 10th, we measured 40cm of snow in the valley bottom in
Harvie Heights, which continued till late in the afternoon.

The group did a 3 day backpacking trip starting on Sept 11 from Baldy
trail head, south over a ridge system to Wasootch ridge. Snow depth
from 30-40cm gradually melted to 10-20cm on depending on aspect. Some
minor snowballing and sluffing was noted on solar aspects. At higher
elevations there was not much melting noted on northerly aspects.

There were many down trees on the start of the Baldy pass trail.
Would expect to encounter similar trail conditions throughout the
eastern slopes that were affected by this recent storm.

Peter Amann Mountain Guide
Helen Sovdat Mountain Guide



Peter Amann
www.incentre.net/pamann/
pamann@incentre.net

[MCR] ACMG Mountain Conditions Report Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued September 11th, 2014

ACMG Mountain Conditions Report Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued September 11th, 2014 It is a white world that is about to get warm. Snowfall amounts were highest on the East Slope of the Rockies(30cms+_)but a pretty good blanket covered everything from there to at least the west side of the Selkirks. On the Rockies divide it could be anywhere from 10-20cm. 4cm at the Bugaboo Lodge this morning and much more on the spires. Estimates from Rogers Pass were about 10cm at the Asulkan Hut yesterday with drifts of 20cm. As of this morning one observer said that it was dry in the Monashees west of Revelstoke. Could Mt Begbie be the most desirable mountain in the Rockies and Columbias tomorrow? Now the sun is going to get on that whiteness and there will be some big changes when it turns to slush and water. Rockfall and wet loose avalanches could be running at some point in most places below 2500m in the next couple of days and maybe higher if it gets really warm and sunny. There may be enough snow in drifts to create little windslabs big enough to knock someone off their feet at least. Crevasses will be covered and maybe difficult to read for awhile. Carrying a probe could bring good peace of mind for anyone going glacier travelling this weekend. And, it will be icy in places tomorrow morning and greasy in lots of places when it gets warm. Still, that sun should feel pretty good after that little taste of winter. Pick somewhere dry and in the sun with nothing white above you and enjoy it. If you really must ski, wear a helmet, body armor and someone else's fat skis. 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. Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.

[MCR] Rockies Icefall Lodge

15cm of snow overnight last night at the lodge 1900 m. There were also moderate winds last night.
Larry Dolecki
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] Rockies- Kananaskis Snow

Up to 30cm of new snow has fallen along the front ranges of Kananaskis over the past few days.  Along the divide and the Spray/Smith Dorrien areas snowfall amounts are much less with only 5-10cm. 

 

Temperatures are expected to climb back up into the 20’s again later this week so heads up for lots of rockfall being generated as a result of all off this new snow melting and some potential avalanche hazard in smaller confined gullies. 

 

Safe to say that Yamnuska, EEOR and most of the rock climbing around here is off the books for a little while… 

 

Public Safety Program

Kananaskis Country, AB

 

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[MCR] Coast - Tantalus Conditions + Serratus west face descent

Generally speaking the conditions in the Tantalus are getting pretty rough right now.  Conditions are very dry which is making glacier travel challenging, moats massive and lots of newly exposed terrain with loose rock.  Saying that still good climbing and Ill be back a few more time this year!

Tantalus: The moat on to the SE spur is still fine as there is a large boulder bridging the moat!  Another guided group completed the traverse this weekend and had no problem crossing the moat on the east side.

Dione:  The normal approach line on Dione glacier has a couple large holes that are difficult to cross, it seems like the snow bridges should stay for the season.  Otherwise good condition

Serratus N Face:  Tough conditions with difficult crevasse negotiation down low but still very doable.  We climbed the upper face in 4 pitches of 40 -45 degree ice.   

Serratus West Face Descent: I put in 3 additional rappels on the Mount Serratus West face descent, you can now rappel the entire face with out any scrambling.   The last rappel would not be needed during times of normal snow level.

Picture showing the general position of all the anchors,  

Ross Berg

Director & Mountain Guide (IFMGA / ACMG) - Altus Mountain Guides

Cell: 604 966 8543

Email: ross@altusmountainguides.com

Web: www.altusmountainguides.com

[MCR] Rockies - Lake Louise and Yoho snow amounts - September 9th, 2014

I've had a few folks asking about snow amounts out west. It seems like we've stayed a bit drier than on the east side.

West of the Divide:
I was in the Yoho valley this morning and there was only a dusting at treeline, mostly not sticking to the ground and melting away on solar aspects. I had some periods of good visibility to higher elevations (ie. Mt. Stephen and the peaks along the Wapta), and there seemed to be only a few centimetres up high as well.

Lake Louise and North:
We had maybe a centimetre in Lake Louise this morning which has since melted back. It looks snowier on the peaks in the Lake Louise group at higher elevations. Probably 5-10 cms would be my guess. I didn't drive north of Lake Louise, but heard from a co-worker that snow amounts were similar to the Lake Louise group as you drove north.

Hope this helps with your planning.

Ian Jackson
Visitor Safety Technician | Technicien Sécurité de Visiteurs
Banff, Yoho, Kootenay National Parks | Parcs Natiounaux Banff, Yoho, Kootenay
Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
www.parksmountainsafety.ca | www.parcsecuritemontagne.ca

Conserve, Restore and Connect with Nature | Conserver, restaurer et se rapprocher de la nature

[MCR] Bugaboo Conditions

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Just back from the Bugaboos last night. While things may have changed since last nights storm here is the skinny at the time of our departure on the morning of the 8th. All sun exposed routes in the Crescent Basin were dry and in good shape. Some snow was lingering on the ridge crests which made it a bit slippy in rock shoes but otherwise not a problem. Marmolata, Bugaboo NE Ridge out of condition however the Kain Route was dry. Pigeon had some snow on it and crampons would be useful to climb the final north facing slopes to the summit. The west side of Snowpatch had some large snow patches near the bases of the routes however most routes were dry (enough) with the exception of the Kraus McCarthy. Views from the Pigeon Feathers showed routes that were visible in the the East Creek basin dry, the north side of the Howsers was plastered and the ice routes were beginning to form but a long way from climbable. Last weeks storm snow was well settled on solar aspects. We encountered up to 35cm of old storm snow on the northerly facing Vowel Glacier which was still 4 finger and fist hardness and beginning to recrystallize into small facets...something to watch with subsequent snowfalls. Bugaboo/Snowpatch col looked grim and uninviting so we avoided it altogether.

 

Cheers!

 

James Blench UIAGM/IFMGA

[MCR] Rockies, Lake O'Hara. Sept 5th, 2104

Climbed Grassi Ridge today on Wiwaxy. Dry on all the climbing but snow on the low angle terrain up high. -1c at 7am at lake elevation(2000m) but above it stayed above freezing at 2200m. Snow begins around 2500m as of 4pm this afternoon and it was cool up high even in the sun.

Some snow moving around at ridge tops along the divide so there "may" be fresh slabs again today in some alpine features. Likely some greasy footing for a day or two on some of the rock routes above 2700m or so.

Larry Stanier
ACMG Mountain Guide

[MCR] ACMG Mountain Conditions Report Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued September 4, 2014

ACMG Mountain Conditions Report Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued September 4, 2014 The mountains saw their first significant snowfall of the fall season over the last couple of days. In most places in the Rockies there was snow down to treeline this morning with 10-30cm at the peak elevations. The trail crew at Ribbon Lake in Kananaskis reported 22cm yesterday morning! The Columbia Mountains saw a slightly higher snowline around 2300m with 10-20cm up near the peaks. The mountains seemed slightly drier to the North with the Columbia Icefields and Jasper areas seeing a little less snow. Some small wind loaded avalanches and 50+cm drifts were reported from the Bugaboos and the Wapta Icefields but in general this snow should stick fairly well over the next few days. Watch for small wind loaded pockets, and for solar triggered sluffing as things warm up. This new snow will melt off quickly from the lower elevation and south facing routes over the next day or two but expect it to remain for a while at higher elevations and on North aspects. We observed lots of rockfall this morning high in an East facing bowl as the snow melted so keep this in mind as you travel. Lower elevation and South facing rock climbs should be in great shape by the weekend. Higher elevation ice faces could also be really good, but make sure to time it so you are off before the snow warms and the rockfall starts. High North facing rock routes would be a bad idea at this point. The new snow has also covered up some of the smaller crevasses and made the glacier travel a bit tricky for the time being. Use your ski pole to probe frequently and keep the rope tight on the ice. The nights are getting longer and the temperatures colder so throw in an extra warm layer and some fresh headlamp batteries while you get out and enjoy the great fall weather over the weekend! Conrad Janzen 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. Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.