[MCR] Freshfield Icefield, Rockies, April 1st-8th, 2014

I spent the last seven days in the Freshfield Icefield/ Mummery glacier area with a couple friends. We camped at 2650m NE of the Helmer/ Gilgit col and skiied between 3200 and 2200m. Here is what we found:

Weather: 

It started off cold, clear and calm on April 1st followed by mixed convective clouds on the 3rd and 4th. A storm on the 5th and 6th dropped 60-100 cm of snow with moderate west winds at ridgetop. A weak ridge of high pressure moved in on the 7th and 8th which brought strong to extreme west/ northwest winds and caused widespread wind effect in the alpine. Temperatures at camp (2650m) gradually warmed from -20 on the night of the 1st to 0 on the morning of the 8th. 

Avalanche activity:

On the flight in we noticed several fresh slabs to size 2.5 on S-W aspects in thin snowpack terrain. We also saw evidence of an older cycle on polar aspects that had come out during the last storm primarily out of steep terrain and with cornice triggers. Compression and deep tap tests indicated hard sudden planar results down 120cm at the previous storm interface (mid March). When the winds picked up towards the end of the week, we saw several cornice failures/ serac falls triggering fresh windslabs up to 40cm deep. 

Glacier conditions:

Snowpack on the ice was well over 3.5m in all areas probed except for thin/ scoured areas (ridges) where we probed 2.5m. Lots of large open crevasses and bergschrunds on these glaciers. The upper snowpack was fairly unconsolidated (you had to go down 1.5-2m before getting into denser snow), which had us wary of weak, recently bridged crevasses. 

Ski quality:

Excellent at the beginning of the week deteriorating as the winds/ warm temperatures came in towards the end of the week. We were mostly limited by poor visibility as there are few rocks for reference and all the terrain had some sort of crevasse hazard to negotiate, which was difficult in poor light.

A beautiful area with lots of ski mountaineering objectives and steep ski lines. If you're planning a trip into this area soon and want more info, feel free to contact me. 

Ian Jackson

ACMG Mountain Guide

iantomasjackson@gmail.com

[MCR] Hwy 93N Conditions

With friends, I drove the Icefields Parkway between Canmore and Tangle Ridge.

At 0600h temps ranged from 6C in Canmore to -2C at Castle Jct to 4C at the Icefields.

At 1400h temps ranged from 4C at the Icefields to 2C at Parker's Ridge to 13C at Castle Jct.

On the drive back, we observed numerous new avalanches that had occurred during our morning recreation, to sz 2.5 on predominantly lee aspects. The cloud cover was mainly overcast this morning. We also drove through scattered rain and snow showers with limited accumulation. The forecasted spring cycle is here and active.

Brent Peters
Alpine Guide
Yamnuska.com

Sent from my iPhone
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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] Adamant Range, Selkirk Mountains, March 29- April 5, 2014

Just returned from a fun week of powder skiing out of the Fairy Meadows hut with the Alpine Club of Canada.

We had between 50-70cm of fresh snow through the week with generally light W to SW winds and temps between -12'C and +2'C at treeline.  We observed sluffing on steep N facing terrain up to size 2 during the storms; some solar triggered sluffing and storm slabs on very steep S aspects up to size 2.5; and two size 2.5 to 3 deep slabs mid-week on very steep glaciated North aspects around 2800m which we suspect occurred on the Feb 10th layer. 

The upper 2m of snow was bonding well on N aspects with no significant shears found. We did not observe the Feb 10th layer in snow pits but remained cautious about areas with a thinner snowpack or rocky outcrops and minimized overhead hazard. Some weaknesses were found on buried sun crusts on S aspects. 

The snowpack at treeline was between 250-300cm. While there are more crevasses visible than in other years, the average snowpack on the glaciers is between 300-400cm of firm snow. Most snow bridges were in good shape and glacier travel was straight forward. NW winds have loaded the terrain a little differently this year but the standard ski lines and routes over the Gothic Glacier, through Friendship Col, across the Granite Glacier, and over the Enterprise and Forbes glaciers are all in good shape. Access up the Granite glacier to Adamant and Austerity looks a little more challenging than usual and Pioneer Pass had some options for travel but was not in great shape.

This morning we called the hazard Considerable in the alpine, Moderate at treeline and Low below tree line with cautions for wind loading, solar triggered slides, and lingering concerns about the deep persistent weaknesses that may be present in the snowpack.

Great late winter ski conditions!

--

Conrad Janzen, Lydia Marmont, Jeff Mitchell and Emilie Stenberg

ACMG Guides

++Alpine Club of Canada

[MCR] Little Commonwealth loop, K-Country, AB Rockies

Out for a short tour this morning to get the legs moving.  Temps were mild but still below freezing, although it felt cooler with a moderate-strong wind blowing out of the west and sometimes limited visibility.  There was 10-15 cm of low density snow on the surface above 2000 metres (more on lee aspects) and it snowed lightly most of the tour.  The snow was light and dry until the sun made an appearance for less than 10 minutes and zapped it into a "cakey" feel.  Spring is springing...  Still good skiing, but slabs were beginning to form on lee features.  Recent old tracks are pretty firm under the new snow.

An impressive, spooky slab ripped out in the last day or two below The Fist (photo).  Cross-loaded slope, SE aspect.

Ken Bélanger

topcog@gmail.com

TopCog Adventures | guiding & adventure travel

ACMG ASG, CAA Pro

[MCR] Selkirks, Roger's Pass, Apr 2-3

we spent the last two days in the Asulkan drainage & Little Sifton regions. things are still relatively winter like above 2200m & good skiing was found on more Northerly aspects.

on Apr 2 we headed up towards Saphire Col via the Mousetrap. AM conditions found a firm trail to above the Mouse Trap (1600m) and then improved to dry snow with no crust above 2000m in the shaded areas. coverage on the glacier was over 3m of snow in areas checked, but numerous sags & open crevasses are visible. we treated the snow bridges with a healthy dose of caution & remained roped up for the majority of travel over ice. we headed up Castor peak & found extensive wind loading & cornices along the ridge. boot packing was deep in facets & new snow, with sections waist deep. looking South along the ridge towards Pollux & Leda, conditions appeared similar and travel would most likely be quite slow. we returned down through the tree triangle & enjoyed great skiing with ski pen about 20cm on average.

skies stayed mostly cloudy with some flurry activity with 5cm of accumulation. temps were mild but stayed below freezing. solar input (sunshine) was a minimum & no moist snow was encountered above 2000m. winds were moderate thru the Col & were transporting the snow into immediate lee features. no shears (hand shear tests) were found in the top 50cm, nor any results occurred from ski cuts. some isolated small soughs have occurred out of steep (40 deg or more) terrain.

Apr 3 we did the Little Sifton traverse. the track up Grizzly shoulder is very firm & slick. ski crampons are strongly advised. on that aspect below treeline a 5-10cm melt freeze crust is present. we were getting clean but hard (to trigger) shears under this layer. above treeline on the sunny aspects, a 2-4 cm crust was present under 5cm of new snow.

skiing down into the Hermit had great turns down to the toe of the glacier, and then careful use of subtle aspect features (looking for areas shaded from the sun & free form overhead hazard) had more good turns down to 2100m. from there to 1800m, unsupportive & breakable crust was predominate and skiing sporty. below 1800m skiing improved with the crust being supportive. about 100m above the hi way elevation the snow became moist & grabby.

weather was similar to Apr 2nd with less wind & no snow transport noted.

all in all some good spring skiing to be had with careful consideration of what has been sun effected, and where the good snow still remains. we strongly recommend throwing the ski crampons in the pack - it will make life easier on the lower elevation skin tracks.

happy turns!

dave healey, sg
adam burrell, asg
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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 Mt Buller, Kananaskis Country April 2nd

Kananaskis Public Safety will be doing avalanche control on Mt Buller on HWY 742 today at 13:00-15:00pm.  The road will be closed briefly during this time.

 

Please no skiing or climbing in this area during this time.  See attachment to see location of control work.

 

Kananaskis Country Public Safety Program

twitter.com/KCPublicSafety

www.facebook.com/KCPublicSafety

 

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[MCR] Lake Louise Backcountry

Thompson Rivers University's Canadian Mountain and Ski Guide training
program conducted an Apprentice Ski Guide Exam in the Lake Louise
region from March 24-31.
Trips could be divided into 3 regions: Bow Summit area (Observation
Sub Pk, Cirque Pk, Little Crowfoot, Mt Olive and Rhonda S), the Lake
Louise backcountry and the divide area West of Lake Louise (Popes
High col, Mt Field). These classic objectives are all in reasonable
travel and excellent ski condition.
Winter conditions persist with alpine high temperatures reaching -10.
Approximately 50cm of new snow fell with light to moderate southwest
winds and minimal solar impact.
The storm snow seems to be bonding well, except in steep rocky alpine
terrain. Our primary concerns were windslabs on North through East
aspects and two deep persistent layers, especially in the shallower
Eastern portion of the range.

TRU CMSG Candidates
c/o Matt Peter
_______________________________________________
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.