[MCR] Twisted Ice Climb, Yoho National Park, Jan. 1st ,2014

I climbed Twisted today with Brian Webster and Steve Holeczi. Here is what we found:

Route Conditions:
The route was dry and in good shape and old hooks made it feel not too brittle despite the cool temperatures (-14 at the car in the AM).  The left hand pillar has a crack across it and sounded hollow. We chose a right hand line to avoid it given the temperatures; however, we still were forced to climb a couple body lengths of hollow sounding ice.

Avalanche Conditions:
Despite the avalanche danger rating of "low" below treeline in the Banff, Yoho & Kootenay avalanche forecast, we brought avalanche gear and chose our approach route carefully. Because of the strong valley winds from the recent "Yoho blow", we encountered many areas of hardslab over a facetted base. We were able to chose a route that avoided being exposed to most of the hazard and crossed short hardslab sections one at a time where we couldn't avoid them. Although any avalanche would likely be small, the terrain is steep enough that you wouldn't want to go for a ride.

These below treeline conditions are likely not widespread throughout the Banff, Yoho & Kootenay forecast region, but I would be cautious on the approaches to any of the climbs in the Mt. Stephen/ Mt. Field area right now.

Happy New Year!

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