Up the right side of the Weeping Wall yesterday April 2. While sun affected the wall is in good shape and the ice still provides solid screw placements. Lots of evidence of icefall from sunny periods so not a place to be on a warm sunny day. Snowing most of the day with fluctuating temperatures at highway level; not much accumulation there however a couple of hundred meters higher it is a different story with up to 20cm of new snow. Biggest accumulations were at Bow Summit with an estimate of 30cm new as of 5pm yesterday. We did not observe any avalanches. Driving was quite greasy at times.
Stay safe…
James Blench UIAGM/IFMGA
www.jamesblench.ca
(403)678-2576 home
(403) 678-7822 cell
We had overcast, calm conditions all day with temperatures between -5
and -3C. We found storm snow accumulations of 45-50cm this morning on
a 190cm snowpack with steady light snowfall producing 5cm fresh by
mid-afternoon.
Despite area reports of "upside down" snow, we found only isolated
pockets of this with mostly excellent skiing on "right-side up" low
density powder in sheltered areas below 2400m. At this elevation,
wind effect began to become more obvious with some soft slabbing
starting in isolated lee and crossloaded pockets, so we avoided these
features and did not venture beyond treeline. Other than that, we saw
no natural avalanche activity (though visibility was limited) or
other signs of instabilities. A test pit at 2400m (treeline) yielded
a low-end moderate resistant planar shear down 30cm in the storm
snow, and a very hard, resistant result down ~70cm where the old
surface is still bonding with the wind effected new snow.
By day's end the road and most of the parking lot had had a visit by
Mr. Plough.
Despite doing our best today, with only 3 parties out, there are
still plenty of fresh tracks to be had!
Carl Johnston
AAG, RG
Nick Rapaich
ASG, AAG
_______________________________________________
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.
No ski touring or other back country activities in these areas tomorrow,
April 3, 2011.
Thank you for your understanding.
Aaron Beardmore
Specialist, Visitor Safety Programs
Banff, Yoho, and Kootenay Parks
Box 900, Banff, AB
T1L 1K2
Ph: 403-762-1415
www.parksmountainsafety.ca,
www.parcsecuritemontagne.ca
www.twitter.com/ParksMtnSafety
www.twitter.com/Parcssecuritemt
_______________________________________________
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.