I climbed at Step Right Up with a friend yesterday, Feb 25th. The climb is doing well, but some parts are deteriorating with strong sun in the afternoon. A good trail leads to the climb at present.
Happy trails,Friday, February 26, 2016
Thursday, February 25, 2016
[MCR] Rockies conditions - Weeping Wall/Weeping Pillar
Had the Weeping Wall to ourselves today. Conditions there felt more typical of mid-March, with both the lower and upper tiers looking bleached and sun affected.
At 6am it was -13C under thin cloud with none of the forecast wind. The right side route had mostly crisp snice that climbed well and yielded decent screws with digging. The less shaded Centre line looked noticeably more sun rotted, and the left side and Snivelling were showing very little blue ice with significant delamination down low and lots of running water. I suspect the latter two would be trickier than usual to climb and protect right now.
At the top of lower wall, despite the lack of wind we felt inspired by the continuing cool temps and cloud (-8C at 9am) to head up the Weeping Pillar. The track to the upper tier is well beaten right now and though we carried avi gear with us, the snowpack seemed well settled and unreactive there.
Initially, we found similar ice conditions as lower down, with relatively fast travel on styrofoam, although good screws were less available. There are still a few precarious daggers nearby, but only a little of the hangfire is directly overhead and there is no significant cornicing there right now. The pillar currently has several climbable options on each pitch and the easiest combination might go at a not-too-funky WI5.
However, the sun hits the upper pitches by ~10:30 now (09:30 for the lower wall), and by the time we reached the final pitch the clouds had disappeared, the snice was slush and the heat was pumping (5C at 11:30). With concerns about ice and snow instabilities we turned tail and ran away. On descent we passed through a noticeable inversion (-5C over just a few 100m) that will be something to keep in mind if it remains calm.
Get after it when conditions improve again!
[MCR] Cirque Peak, Banff National Park, Rockies, 2016-02-25
Did a nice tour up to Helen Lake, over Cirque Peak to the Cirque Glacier, and back around to Kathryn Lake with friends today. Travel was fast and the skiing was good on all but steeper South aspects where a temperature crust was present.
A few solar triggered avalanches up to size 1.5 observed out of steep rocky terrain starting around noon but the snow stayed quite cool all day. Recent debris from Dolomite Peak hit the uptrack on the way to Helen Lake, and there were many recent slides up to size 3 on the deep persistent layers along Helen Ridge and the backside of Cirque Peak. Lots of whumphing while travelling in thin snow pack areas. We minimized overhead hazard and avoided steep terrain with the exception of the coulior descent on the North side of Cirque Peak.
A 40m lower from a slung block gets you past the rocks in the North Couloir on Cirque Peak. An ice axe was handy for the last person down climbing to this point, boot crampons could be considered but were not needed today. The Cirque Glacier had been hit by the wind but was still soft enough to enjoy the skiing. One large open crevasse in the upper Cirque Glacier which was easily avoided.
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
[MCR] Roger Pass, Selkirks, Feb 21-24
Hi all,
I just finished 4 days of ski touring guiding in the Rogers Pass area. We toured in Connaught creek, the Illecillewaet valley, Asulkan and the Loop Brook area over this period. We took advantage of the good weather conditions to ski glaciated and supported alpine terrain to 40deg. There were heaps of other folks out there enjoying the current conditions and as a results there are a lot of tracks! The ski quality was good to excellent on Northerly aspects with some wind affect at ridge top however, there is now a breakable sun crust on most southerly aspects. The snow pack is recovering from the recent storm cycle and adjusting to the new load. We noticed two main layers of concerns in the upper snowpack; a storm interface down about 40cm and the February 10th layer down 60-80cm. Both these layer generally gave moderate to hard shear results. We measured an average height of snow of 275cm at treeline. The height of snow on the Illecillewaet Glacier at 2150m was 300+cm and 400+cm at 2300m on the protected Bonney Glacier. We did not observe any signs of instability (whumpfing or cracking). The solar radiations from the last few days triggered several dry/wet avalanches to size 2 on steep solar aspects, the most recent slab avalanches were from Monday. Of note, all the low elevation access trails are hard and icy making for sections of technical skinning. Also, there are many open creeks sections below treeline making for challenging crossing in some areas. This will likely deteriorate as Spring evolve.
Great mid-winter Spring skiing conditions!
Cheers,
David Lussier
acmg mountain guide
[MCR] Rockies, Wicked Wanda, Bow Summit, The Professor Falls.
On Feb 19th my buddy, Scotty, and I climbed Wicked Wanda. The horizontal ice in the valley bottom and along the approach trail was arguably more dangerous than the vertical ice and I vowed that next outing in the front ranges would see traction devices on my feet, other than my crampons.
The route was dry and in stellar shape with a fresh face and little evidence of previous ascents. We climbed it in two pitches with the second pitch taken on the climber's left hand to avoid dripping on the more common right hand variation. Sustained technical climbing of excellent quality and good screws, pig heaven.
The immediate area is about 98% bare rock and blue ice and 2% snow: no avalanche hazard in the alpine, treeline or below treeline. We carried no avalanche safety equipment.
Feb 21, 22 I instructed Avalanche Safety Training 1 in the Bow Summit area amongst numerous slabs out on north to east aspects in the alpine and treeline. The prize winner the 450 metre crown on Bow Peak mentioned in the Banff National Park hazard forecast over the weekend. Shocking to us was two Rutschblock scores of 2 with the whole block failing on the Jan 6th layer when the skier stepped one ski onto the block (https://www.mec.ca/media/Images/pdf/RutschblockTest_v2_m5657756983064519...). The failures were resistant planar on north aspects of 28 degrees at 2150 metres.
Monday we skied Bow Summit South avoiding overhead threat and skiing 1 and 2 at a time. Ski quality was very good, but I suspect that it's all tracked out now.
Feb 23 I guided an ascent of The Professor Falls. The golf course road has been sanded and rides well with normal bikes. We left our bikes at the closed road where the riding is on pure ice. If you have studded bike tires you could ride all the way to the drainage, or even the climb on a snow bike. I had traction devices and my client and I put them on although it is all ice all the way so one could just use crampons as I did on the way out.
The climb is big and blue and there is water running in places . The last pitch (the crux) is being climbed up the front of the pillar rather than it's left edge as in most other years. We carried avalanche safety equipment.
Happy Trails,
Barry Blanchard
Mountain Guide
[MCR] Rockies, Wicked Wanda, Bow Summit, The Professor Falls.
On Feb 19th my buddy, Scotty, and I climbed Wicked Wanda. The horizontal ice in the valley bottom and along the approach trail was arguably more dangerous than the vertical ice and I vowed that next outing in the front ranges would see traction devices on my feet, other than my crampons.
The route was dry and in stellar shape with a fresh face and little evidence of previous ascents. We climbed it in two pitches with the second pitch taken on the climber's left hand to avoid dripping on the more common right hand variation. Sustained technical climbing of excellent quality and good screws, pig heaven.
The immediate area is about 98% bare rock and blue ice and 2% snow: no avalanche hazard in the alpine, treeline or below treeline. We carried no avalanche safety equipment.
Feb 21, 22 I instructed Avalanche Safety Training 1 in the Bow Summit area amongst numerous slabs out on north to east aspects in the alpine and treeline. The prize winner the 450 metre crown on Bow Peak mentioned in the Banff National Park hazard forecast over the weekend. Shocking to us was two Rutschblock scores of 2 with the whole block failing on the Jan 6th layer when the skier stepped one ski onto the block (https://www.mec.ca/media/Images/pdf/RutschblockTest_v2_m5657756983064519...). The failures were resistant planar on north aspects of 28 degrees at 2150 metres.
Monday we skied Bow Summit South avoiding overhead threat and skiing 1 and 2 at a time. Ski quality was very good, but I suspect that it's all tracked out now.
Feb 23 I guided an ascent of The Professor Falls. The golf course road has been sanded and rides well with normal bikes. We left our bikes at the closed road where the riding is on pure ice. If you have studded bike tires you could ride all the way to the drainage, or even the climb on a snow bike. I had traction devices and my client and I put them on although it is all ice all the way so one could just use crampons as I did on the way out.
The climb is big and blue and there is water running in places . The last pitch (the crux) is being climbed up the front of the pillar rather than it's left edge as in most other years. We carried avalanche safety equipment.
Happy Trails,
Barry Blanchard
Mountain Guide
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
[MCR] Rogers Pass Feb.23/2016 Mt. Green - Ross Peak slide path
Hi Gang,
Spent the day with my good friend Giacomo Fano skiing up and back down the North facing Ross Pk. slidepath off of Mt. Green.
The approach through the hemlock of the designated route was in its usual crusty skittery condition with just enough uphill to require the skins and just enough downhill to wish you didn't have them on ;-) !
Once in the open terrain we found 10-15cms of new snow over a previous temperature crust that was supportive, yet soft enough to edge when tracksetting in the steep lower part of the path. This was only present up to the 1200m. elevation after which things softened right up allowing for 30-40cms ski penetration in soft (Fist) snow that was overlying a previous windslab that seemed well settled and bonded.
We saw no recent avalanche activity and what had happened previously was well covered with new snow - there were a few old cornice chunks that had fallen off the summit ridge and tumbled down the slope a bit but that was pretty much it.
Other than that we had great ski conditions for an amazing 1600m. vertical run to the valley floor.
From the highway at the end of the day we could see a fair bit of solar activity that had occurred during the day up to size 2 (see blurry photo of Avalanche crest)
Cheers,
Scott Davis
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
[MCR] Ferris Glacier, Crowfoot Knob
I ski toured up to Crowfoot Knob, the little peak to the west of Crowfoot Mountain, today. The temperature in the parking lot at 9:00 am was -13 C, with a high of -3 C at 4:00 pm at the end of the day. The bright sun didn't seem to heat things up much today. Moderate west winds all day with plenty of snow transport in the alpine.
Regards,
At 11:00 am we observed a cornice failure on a steep alpine E aspect, elevation 2600 m, size 3.0, about 100 m wide and running ~400 m. It propagated a slab avalanche in the lower slopes (approx 50 m x 40 cm deep, ran ~100 m). See attached photo. This was the only avalanche observed today.
You could see the results of the avalanche cycle from last week in old slab avalanches, mostly in the size 1.0-2.0 range, on all aspects and mainly in the lower alpine and treeline elevations. The slopes threatening the approach (along and above the canyon) have mostly slid with a couple of exceptions that did not seem menacing today.
We skied mellow open slopes (<30 deg) and small, supported alpine slopes to 36 deg and avoided exposure to large slopes and cornices. Snow coverage on Ferris Glacier was about 150 cm. Snow quality was light, wind pressed powder which skied very nicely.
Good to be in the beautiful Rockies today, with unlimited views, sunshine and blue skies. What a place we live in.
Regards,
[MCR] Rockies-Ghost river, Sorcerer and Weathering Heights. Feb 22nd, 23rd, 2017
Two fine days in the Ghost. Driving is as good as it gets and the avalanche Danger is low, low low. Close to no, no, no.
Driving to the North Ghost yesterday(monday) was good to within about 20 minutes walking of the trail to Johnson lakes. We crossed the river once in a fairly easy place(stock tacoma) but parked at the 2nd one which looked really rough without some hard work with the axe and the chainsaw! First crossing was part way along a long section of ice that just calls out for a hockey game!
Sorcerer is in fantastic shape. Great hooking throughout and some light swings in a few places. I don't think we knocked any ice down. No real cornice above the route currently.
South Ghost today. Easy driving to the Park Boundary and a decent but often icy trail to Weathering Heights. It is in great shape too but in places we actually had to swing a bit. Low angle section at the top hadn't been climbed much and it was suddenly brittle and featureless above the tree anchor at the top of the steep climbing.
Anorexia Nervosa 1st pitch was gone. Sunshine bottom 1/2 was gone and Aquarius looked rough from the Planters valley. Malignant Mushroom looked ok but may not feel that way? Wicked Wanda looked great.
Still lots to do out there.
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.
Driving to the North Ghost yesterday(monday) was good to within about 20 minutes walking of the trail to Johnson lakes. We crossed the river once in a fairly easy place(stock tacoma) but parked at the 2nd one which looked really rough without some hard work with the axe and the chainsaw! First crossing was part way along a long section of ice that just calls out for a hockey game!
Sorcerer is in fantastic shape. Great hooking throughout and some light swings in a few places. I don't think we knocked any ice down. No real cornice above the route currently.
South Ghost today. Easy driving to the Park Boundary and a decent but often icy trail to Weathering Heights. It is in great shape too but in places we actually had to swing a bit. Low angle section at the top hadn't been climbed much and it was suddenly brittle and featureless above the tree anchor at the top of the steep climbing.
Anorexia Nervosa 1st pitch was gone. Sunshine bottom 1/2 was gone and Aquarius looked rough from the Planters valley. Malignant Mushroom looked ok but may not feel that way? Wicked Wanda looked great.
Still lots to do out there.
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.
Monday, February 22, 2016
[MCR] Area closure - Mt Rundle-Trophy Wall ice climbs
English:
http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/scond/Cond_E.asp?oID=22802&oPark=100092
French:
http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/scond/Cond_F.asp?oID=22802&oPark=100092
Parks Canada Visitor Safety
Banff, Yoho & Kootenay National Parks
www.facebook.com/ParksMountainSafety
www.facebook.com/parcssecuritemontagne
Sunday, February 21, 2016
[MCR] Rogers Pass - Connaught Ck. - Feb.21-2016
Went for a ski up Connaught Ck today - lots of folks out and about - Asulkan parking lot pretty much jammed packed - Loop Brook had around 15 vehicles and as usual the info center was pretty much wall to wall vehicles.
Numerous old avalanches related to the latest storm event - of note I did see one skier triggered size 1-1.5 slab avalanche on a convex roll in the center of Balu Pass (@ 2000m. E aspect 20-30 cms. deep) from mid day today - looked like they skied out of it. I also noted that a small cornice fall that had triggered a loose dry sluff that ran for a 100m before triggering a size 1-1.5 slab on a mid slope steep convexity - looked to be fairly recent (last 24-48 hrs).
Lots of sun out there today and as a result you can expect some degree of suncrust on steeper South through West aspects.
Anyone skiing down from Grizzly Bowl via the Teddy Bear side of the Grizzly slide path should not that there is now a LARGE GLIDE CRACK in the middle of the ski line (see attached photo) - aside from the avalanche issues related to it, there is the potential for a nasty surprise if you came into it with speed!
Cheers,
Scott Davis
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
Saturday, February 20, 2016
[MCR] Recent Avalanche Activity Banff and Kootenay National Parks
Just a quick heads up...
Parks Canada received quite a few reports of significant avalanches today that were both directly and remotely triggered by people ranging from size 1.5 and up to a reported size 3.A short flight into Kootenay Park while on return from an evacuation today revealed extensive natural activity in that area much of which was in the last 24 hrs. This was seen mainly at treeline and alpine elevation bands and on North West through North East slopes although activity was noted on all aspects and a few examples were reported below treeline as well. Crowns are 40cm to over one meter deep, both recent windslabs and persistent slabs could be implicated although the persistent slabs seem to be the key player with some events clearly stepping down to the ground.
At least three separate reports came from the Highway 93 North zone as well with a size 3 on Bow Peak, a size 1.5 remotely triggered near Bow Falls or the Bow Hut approach, and signs of instability and a healthy size 2 avalanche observed near the Peyto approach.
This all follows many close calls over the previous week to ten days....
Parks Canada will make an effort to forward this information through our social media at https://www.facebook.com/ParksMountainSafety. Please share any info you may have with us or consider posting to Avalanche Canada's Mountain Information Network.
Tim Haggarty
Visitor Safety Technician | Technicien Sécurité de Visiteurs
Banff, Yoho, Kootenay National Parks | Parcs Natiounaux Banff, Yoho, Kootenay
Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
Telephone | Téléphone 403-760-1352
Facsimile | Telecopieur 403-762-3240
Cell | Cellulaire 403-431-0189
tim.haggarty@pc.gc.ca
www.parksmountainsafety.ca | www.parcsecuritemontagne.ca
Conserve, Restore and Connect with Nature | Conserver, restaurer et se rapprocher de la nature
This all follows many close calls over the previous week to ten days....
Parks Canada will make an effort to forward this information through our social media at https://www.facebook.com/ParksMountainSafety. Please share any info you may have with us or consider posting to Avalanche Canada's Mountain Information Network.
Tim Haggarty
Visitor Safety Technician | Technicien Sécurité de Visiteurs
Banff, Yoho, Kootenay National Parks | Parcs Natiounaux Banff, Yoho, Kootenay
Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
Telephone | Téléphone 403-760-1352
Facsimile | Telecopieur 403-762-3240
Cell | Cellulaire 403-431-0189
tim.haggarty@pc.gc.ca
www.parksmountainsafety.ca | www.parcsecuritemontagne.ca
Conserve, Restore and Connect with Nature | Conserver, restaurer et se rapprocher de la nature
Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone on the Rogers network.
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
[MCR] Rockies, Black Prince, Feb 16th, 2016
Nice simple lap on Black Prince tree triangle today. Temperatures just below freezing, intermittent snow and breezy all day up there. Approx 15cms of snow on the latest crust and it skied reasonably well with not too many hard old tracks. Another 10cm and it would qualify as good skiing!
Nice to find some decent skiing that avoided the issue of going into real avalanche terrain. I agree with all the Rockies bulletins and wanted to minimize my exposure to avalanche terrain for now.
Enjoy that dust on crust. It sure beats a slab failing on a weak layer!
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.
Nice to find some decent skiing that avoided the issue of going into real avalanche terrain. I agree with all the Rockies bulletins and wanted to minimize my exposure to avalanche terrain for now.
Enjoy that dust on crust. It sure beats a slab failing on a weak layer!
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.
Sunday, February 14, 2016
[MCR] Whistler Backcountry Conditions
We skied a few runs in the Flute and Oboe area on the 13th. At 1900m there was ~30cm of new snow on top of last weeks crust. This new snow tapered to about 10cm at 1600m. We did not see any new avalanches. Cornices were growing rapidly and we observed only cracking in the top 20cm in wind affected areas.
So nice to ski powder again!
Marc Piché
ACMG Mountain Guide
marc.piche@icloud.com
403-678-7350
_______________________________________________
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.
Friday, February 12, 2016
[MCR] Columbia Icefields access via Athabasca Glacier
Recent warm temperatures have caused an extensive natural avalanche cycle in the Columbia Icefields area of Jasper and Banff National Park. Between 1400 and 1800 a significant serac collapse occurred in the Athabasca Glacier icefall. Large blocks of ice and snow approximately 100ms wide ran from the upper exposed seracs, across the middle bench. This affects the suggested access route for the Icefields proper and is the most popular access used to approach Snowdome, Mt. Columbia and the trench. The icefall continues to become more and more unstable. The route itself looks superficially covered from the last storm and coverage should improve leading into the spring. Early season adventurers are advised to approach this route with extreme caution and to move rapidly and cautiously through this area. Field teams approached and exited the Icefields neve via the Saskatchewan glacier last week. We found variable coverage ranging from 350+ cms at the top to bare ice on the glacier tongue. The sun is starting to penetrate deeper into the snowpack these days and back-country users need to be very cautious during the transition between the winter and spring snowpack conditions.
Jasper Visitor Safety
Monday, February 8, 2016
[MCR] Highway 742 Smith Dorrien Spray Lakes Highway Closure
Hello Everyone,
Please be advised that avalanche control operations will take place tomorrow February 9th 2016 commencing at 1100 until 1500 and a closure will take place affecting the Highway 742 Smith Dorrien / Spray Lakes Highway from the Grassi Lakes entrance to the Goat Creek parking lot.
Thanks,
Paddy Jerome
Public Safety Specialist
Kananaskis Region
Alberta Environment and Parks
Office: 403 687 5500 ext: 277
Cell: 403 678 7064
Email: paddy.jerome@gov.ab.ca
Facebook: Kananaskis Public Safety
Twitter: Kananaskis Public Safety
[MCR] Avalanche control planned for Banff, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks, February 9, 2016
Avalanche control is planned in the following locations for February 9, 2016
- Mt Bourgeau
- Mt Whympher
- Simpson slide paths
- Mt Bosworth
- Mt Field
- Mt Stephen
No skiing, climbing or other activities in these areas tomorrow.
Thanks,
--
Visitor Safety
Banff, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks
[MCR] Whistler - Callaghan Backcountry Conditions
Spent the day skiing in the Callaghan Backcountry yesterday. The skiing quality started off nice with dry but wind pressed snow at ridgeline and lighter snow lower down where the wind effect had been more sporadic. Mid day, the freezing level started to rise rapidly and a constant light drizzle ensued. By the time we left, temperatures were well above freezing at 2000m and the top 10-15cm of snow had become rain soaked with a thin crust on the surface.
We saw evidence of a natural avalanche cycle up to size 3 from Friday's storm but most of the debris was already covered over. There we extensive buried windslabs near ridges and on exposed moraines.
Marc Piché
ACMG Mountain Guide
marc.piche@icloud.com
403.678.7350
_______________________________________________
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: Twin Cairns / Sunshine slack country
Spent the final day of the ACC Calgary AST2 going up Twin Cairns and skiing conservative terrain in the Sunshine slack country. Relevant observations:
Snowpack – variable 100 to 140cm deep and major wind damage. Whumpfing and cracking on the low angle terrain approaching the backside. Hollow like a drum in many areas up high. Ski penetration was 0 to 20cm. Foot penetration was variable but up to 60cm. The back side of Twin Cairns was wind-hammered sastrugi. The cornice along the ridge crest had built a bit since last week. Did a compression test on a nearly flat feature a few hundered meters outside the ski area boundary and got a moderate sudden planar (pop) result on the 11th tap down 20cm on 2mm stellar crystals (1 finger soft slab). Then got a sudden collapse (drop) on the 17th tap down 70cm on 1 to 2mm facets. Identical results on a second test.
Avalanches - Several size 1 to 3 natural avalanches in steep alpine terrain seen from the summit. Some failed near ridge crest; some just below rocky features. All on E and SE aspects. Notable is what appeared to be a size 3 in the Healey Creek slide path. Also notable is a size 2 and a size 1 that likely occurred during the storm on E facing lines that are sometimes skied off Twin Cairns. Crowns on the latter two now becoming obscured due to additional wind transport.
Weather – cool temperatures with variable sun and cloud with light to moderate winds all day. Not a lot of wind transport today as most of the snow had already been moved in the previous wind event.
Terrain Use – skied mellow terrain up to 25 degrees both up and down. Avoided overhead hazard. Ski quality poor to very poor on windward side and fair to good where sheltered or slight lee.
Cyril Shokoples MG
ACC AST2 Crew
Snowpack – variable 100 to 140cm deep and major wind damage. Whumpfing and cracking on the low angle terrain approaching the backside. Hollow like a drum in many areas up high. Ski penetration was 0 to 20cm. Foot penetration was variable but up to 60cm. The back side of Twin Cairns was wind-hammered sastrugi. The cornice along the ridge crest had built a bit since last week. Did a compression test on a nearly flat feature a few hundered meters outside the ski area boundary and got a moderate sudden planar (pop) result on the 11th tap down 20cm on 2mm stellar crystals (1 finger soft slab). Then got a sudden collapse (drop) on the 17th tap down 70cm on 1 to 2mm facets. Identical results on a second test.
Avalanches - Several size 1 to 3 natural avalanches in steep alpine terrain seen from the summit. Some failed near ridge crest; some just below rocky features. All on E and SE aspects. Notable is what appeared to be a size 3 in the Healey Creek slide path. Also notable is a size 2 and a size 1 that likely occurred during the storm on E facing lines that are sometimes skied off Twin Cairns. Crowns on the latter two now becoming obscured due to additional wind transport.
Weather – cool temperatures with variable sun and cloud with light to moderate winds all day. Not a lot of wind transport today as most of the snow had already been moved in the previous wind event.
Terrain Use – skied mellow terrain up to 25 degrees both up and down. Avoided overhead hazard. Ski quality poor to very poor on windward side and fair to good where sheltered or slight lee.
Cyril Shokoples MG
ACC AST2 Crew
Sunday, February 7, 2016
[MCR] Rockies, Lake O"Hara Feb 7th.
The wind blew like a bad movie here yesterday and it made a mess of most things TL and above. There seemed to be more scouring than wind loading and in the sunshine today we so only a few signs of avalanche activity. All the passes would be loaded on at least one side and we haven't made it up to Opabin pass once in the past 10 days because of windslab concerns. We certainly are not skiing big features like Schaffer bowl and generally still avoiding being under them. The snowpack is fairly facetted out in shallow areas so I am guessing travel on Cathedral and Collier would be poor unless it was wind packed.
The ice routes on Wiwaxy all look great. However the approaches must be assumed to be windslabs over facets so they would require a very careful approach.
Thinking forward to spring steep skiing, Mt. Lefroy and Glacier look much snowier than they have previous winters so they may just be in good shape if and when we get a trusty spring snowpack.
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.
The ice routes on Wiwaxy all look great. However the approaches must be assumed to be windslabs over facets so they would require a very careful approach.
Thinking forward to spring steep skiing, Mt. Lefroy and Glacier look much snowier than they have previous winters so they may just be in good shape if and when we get a trusty spring snowpack.
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.
Saturday, February 6, 2016
[MCR] Whistler and Duffey Area Conditions
The Candadian Mountain and Ski Guide touring course spent the past week skiing in the Coast Range.
Whistler/Blackcomb Feb 1-3, 2016
Evidence of the Jan 28 rain event and associated natural avalanche cycle was widespread, with a supportive rain crust below 1800m and rugged refrozen debris on runs such as Husume, the Poop Chutes and Phalanx.
On Feb 2 visibility was good, and numerous aggressive lines in the Blackcomb backcountry were skied with sluffing to size one. A large cornice fall in the Trorey Col did not initiate an avalanche on the underlying slope.
A storm cycle began on Feb 3 with moderate to strong southerly winds, moderate rates of precipitation and increasing temperatures, with touchy windslabs developing near ridge tops. Cornices are growing rapidly.
Since our last field day in the Whistler on Feb 3, significant snowfall and continued winds have likely changed conditions considerably.
Duffey Lakes Rd - Marriot Basin and Cerise Creek Feb 4-5, 2016
Ski quality was very poor below treeline with 10-15cm of recent snow over the supportive Jan 28 rain crust.
A significant storm began on Feb 4 with snowfall, moderate to strong southerly winds and mild temperatures. By early in the day on Feb 5 the wind affect was widespread, one huge tree had fallen over the approach trail to the Keith hut, and windslabs were cracking with ski traffic at 1900m and above.
The early January SH layers were found down 1m and results on this layer in snowpack tests varied from resistant planar to sudden planar depending on location.
Jasmin Caton
Conny Amelunxen
Kirsten Knechtel
Marc Piché
_______________________________________________
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: Helen Shoulder
Up to Helen Shoulder today. Moderate winds most of the day with occasional strong gusts redistributing the recent storm snow. Precipitation was on and off with occasional snowfall amounts up to 2cm/hour. Likely less than 5cm new during the day with up to 10cm in the last 24 hours. Some soft slabs developing at treeline and in the alpine. A lot of cross loading on Dolomite peak. Limited visibility most of the day.
Of note: We did a Rutschblock on a short 37 degree safe slope on a slight convexity at the ridge crest on a lee wind loaded feature. Got an RB 2 whole block down 30cm in the recently deposited soft slab. Wow... Continued loading and got an RB4 whole block down 100cm on facets. Yikes !!!!!
Skied conservative terrain the entire day both up and down. Ski quality was good.
Cyril Shokoples MG
RescueDynamics.com
ACC Calgary AST2 crew
Of note: We did a Rutschblock on a short 37 degree safe slope on a slight convexity at the ridge crest on a lee wind loaded feature. Got an RB 2 whole block down 30cm in the recently deposited soft slab. Wow... Continued loading and got an RB4 whole block down 100cm on facets. Yikes !!!!!
Skied conservative terrain the entire day both up and down. Ski quality was good.
Cyril Shokoples MG
RescueDynamics.com
ACC Calgary AST2 crew
Friday, February 5, 2016
[MCR] Rockies: Bow Hut day trip
Well, the change that was in the wind has certainly arrived in the immediate environs of the Bow Hut.
Our ACC Calgary AST2 course went for a day trip to the Bow Hut today. By mid morning the west winds had already begun to pick up to moderate and light snow was falling at a rate of less than a centimeter an hour. At noon we ran into Nick’s group from Yamnuska descending from the hut and he mentioned that he felt soft slabs were already beginning to form.
We could see the snow starting to be redistributed in the rocks above and we decided to run up and down to the hut and see how good a track we could set and how safe we could be. We also felt the soft slab formation and a few isolated small features in the immediate lee of the wind were definitely beginning to behave like slabs. The final slope below the hut had some thin 10 to 15cm soft slabs that sheared very easily in isolated locations. We had already had the discussion that at the first sign of this becoming any thicker or more widespread we would just turn tail and run. We were doing pretty constant hand shears and pole tests to make sure we weren’t fooling ourselves. Conditions remained manageable and we reached the hut at our turn around time.
In the short time that it took us to have a snack and remove our skins the winds continued to accelerate and the precipitation rate was now a solid 1cm per hour. Brief intense gusts were now really beginning to move snow around. The headwall was now sluffing and we beat a hasty retreat with our group spaced out. The soft slabs were becoming more pronounced and more widespread but we were now out of harm’s way. We suspected that by morning the slope below the hut may even be a concern.
The large open slope directly above the entrance into the canyon (as you come down from the hut) was also distinctly different from the morning and we felt that by Saturday morning this would also be a more significant consideration. We felt it odd that even when we were breaking trail in untracked snow that we didn’t have any whumpfing today. Didn’t need it to tell us that the hazard was rising. We had far too many other indicators. Fortunately we made it in and out before things really started to get spooky.
As an aside, the creek in the canyon has a large number of open holes and it just doesn’t seem as well filled in as normal. The winds in the canyon were calm in the morning but had started to drift snow when we made our way out. The lake also had a “slushing event” (common during wind and snow events) and there was open water about 15cm below the surface snow. Managed to keep our skins and feet dry but a few unlucky “soles” hiking along were obviously not so lucky!
It was heartening to see that Parks had bumped the hazard to High/Considerable/Moderate for Saturday. Sure felt that things were heading that way to the group and me.
Cyril Shokoples MG
RescueDynamics.com
ACC AST2 Crew
Our ACC Calgary AST2 course went for a day trip to the Bow Hut today. By mid morning the west winds had already begun to pick up to moderate and light snow was falling at a rate of less than a centimeter an hour. At noon we ran into Nick’s group from Yamnuska descending from the hut and he mentioned that he felt soft slabs were already beginning to form.
We could see the snow starting to be redistributed in the rocks above and we decided to run up and down to the hut and see how good a track we could set and how safe we could be. We also felt the soft slab formation and a few isolated small features in the immediate lee of the wind were definitely beginning to behave like slabs. The final slope below the hut had some thin 10 to 15cm soft slabs that sheared very easily in isolated locations. We had already had the discussion that at the first sign of this becoming any thicker or more widespread we would just turn tail and run. We were doing pretty constant hand shears and pole tests to make sure we weren’t fooling ourselves. Conditions remained manageable and we reached the hut at our turn around time.
In the short time that it took us to have a snack and remove our skins the winds continued to accelerate and the precipitation rate was now a solid 1cm per hour. Brief intense gusts were now really beginning to move snow around. The headwall was now sluffing and we beat a hasty retreat with our group spaced out. The soft slabs were becoming more pronounced and more widespread but we were now out of harm’s way. We suspected that by morning the slope below the hut may even be a concern.
The large open slope directly above the entrance into the canyon (as you come down from the hut) was also distinctly different from the morning and we felt that by Saturday morning this would also be a more significant consideration. We felt it odd that even when we were breaking trail in untracked snow that we didn’t have any whumpfing today. Didn’t need it to tell us that the hazard was rising. We had far too many other indicators. Fortunately we made it in and out before things really started to get spooky.
As an aside, the creek in the canyon has a large number of open holes and it just doesn’t seem as well filled in as normal. The winds in the canyon were calm in the morning but had started to drift snow when we made our way out. The lake also had a “slushing event” (common during wind and snow events) and there was open water about 15cm below the surface snow. Managed to keep our skins and feet dry but a few unlucky “soles” hiking along were obviously not so lucky!
It was heartening to see that Parks had bumped the hazard to High/Considerable/Moderate for Saturday. Sure felt that things were heading that way to the group and me.
Cyril Shokoples MG
RescueDynamics.com
ACC AST2 Crew
Thursday, February 4, 2016
[MCR] Rockies: Bow Summit
Spent Day two of an ACC Calgary AST2 course at Bow Summit today. Saw some relatively recent avalanche activity in the major slide paths on Observation Peak, including the skier triggered avalanche reported previously. I have the feeling that despite the fact that the snow pack is not as reactive as it was a week ago there are still some big surprises lurking out there. Certainly a few folks have a higher risk tolerance than I do based on the location of some of the tracks on and beneath major features.
Made for interesting group discussions regarding risk tolerance and where to place your up track when avalanche hazard is Considerable. The fact that I find interesting is that the definition of the rating Considerable begins with the statement “Dangerous avalanche conditions...”
Be that as it may, we had time to do some quick compression tests below treeline and found the January 5 Surface Hoar down 25cm and the December Surface Hoar down 50cm in a snowpack that was around 100 to 120cm deep. We had failures in the moderate range in compression tests on these layers with some tests producing sudden results (pops and drops). Our extended column test did produce a failure in the moderate range but no propagation.
We postulated that this was due to the fact that where we were below treeline the snowpack was not stiff or cohesive enough to propagate. For example, the upper 25cm in our location was low density or soft snow that you could easily push your fist into (ie. fist resistance). Another 25cm beneath this and above the December surface hoar the snow allowed you to relatively easily push four fingers into it (4F resistance). We felt that if the snow above either of these two buried surface hoar layers was a bit stiffer, as you might find on an open or lee loaded slope, that it may be conceivable that the weak layer would fail and the fracture would propagate in a slab avalanche.
Looking around and doing a bit of digging didn’t inspire all that much confidence in me to ride the bigger features yet. I am probably going to still be fairly conservative, especially in light of the weekend forecast for more snow together with some wind. Things that make you go “Hmmmmm.”
Going touring again tomorrow. Ride safe!
Cyril Shokoples MG
ACC Calgary AST2 Group
Made for interesting group discussions regarding risk tolerance and where to place your up track when avalanche hazard is Considerable. The fact that I find interesting is that the definition of the rating Considerable begins with the statement “Dangerous avalanche conditions...”
Be that as it may, we had time to do some quick compression tests below treeline and found the January 5 Surface Hoar down 25cm and the December Surface Hoar down 50cm in a snowpack that was around 100 to 120cm deep. We had failures in the moderate range in compression tests on these layers with some tests producing sudden results (pops and drops). Our extended column test did produce a failure in the moderate range but no propagation.
We postulated that this was due to the fact that where we were below treeline the snowpack was not stiff or cohesive enough to propagate. For example, the upper 25cm in our location was low density or soft snow that you could easily push your fist into (ie. fist resistance). Another 25cm beneath this and above the December surface hoar the snow allowed you to relatively easily push four fingers into it (4F resistance). We felt that if the snow above either of these two buried surface hoar layers was a bit stiffer, as you might find on an open or lee loaded slope, that it may be conceivable that the weak layer would fail and the fracture would propagate in a slab avalanche.
Looking around and doing a bit of digging didn’t inspire all that much confidence in me to ride the bigger features yet. I am probably going to still be fairly conservative, especially in light of the weekend forecast for more snow together with some wind. Things that make you go “Hmmmmm.”
Going touring again tomorrow. Ride safe!
Cyril Shokoples MG
ACC Calgary AST2 Group
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
[MCR] Mallard Lodge, Canadian Rockies
Hi all,
We have been enjoying good skiing and a unique wilderness experience out of the Mallard Lodge for the last 4 days. This area is located just west of Jasper National Park. The height of snow at treeline in this area is about 145cm. The snowpack here is a typical continental snowpack with much thickness variation in the alpine. The upper 30-40 cm is supportive and skis very well at all elevations. It displays a nice hardness increase from fist to one finger plus snow. The mid-pack is faceted, softer and weaker. Snowpack tests on various aspects and elevations are producing moderate to hard resistant shears down 30-35cm and moderate to hard sudden shears down 45-75cm. The deeper weak layer is most likely the early January layer and consist of decomposed surface hoar to 5mm overlying a 10-15cm softer (one finger minus) faceted snow layer below. The lower snow pack is much firmer and appears stable at this time.
We have been skiing treeline and alpine terrain to 38 degrees with an emphasis on supported slopes. We have been experiencing lots of dynamic snowpack settlements (whumpfing) at all elevations however, none of them triggered avalanches. We have been avoiding convex slopes and exposure to overhead avalanche terrain. Today the ridge top winds picked up to moderate from the southwest and new wind slabs started to become a concern in alpine lee start zones. Cornice growth was significant today. We saw a few natural cornice falls and in one case a size 2 slab was triggered by a cornice fall. We also saw a natural size 2 in a cross-loaded slope at treeline today. Both avalanches appear to release on the early January weak layer down 45-75cm. Skiing is still really good in protected areas however, this may change with foretasted winds and warming trend.
Mallard Lodge is a great venue for folks looking interested in a small modern and comfortable lodge with varied and interesting terrain.
Regards,
David Lussier
acmg mountain guide
http://summitmountainguides.com/
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