[MCR] Massey's Ice Climb

Climbed Massey's today in Field with Rob S. Fast approach from Field with up to 20cm of mostly faceted snow. The route was in excellent shape with a mix of dry/brittle and wet/soft ice. Clear skies, calm winds, and -18c in Field in this am.
Do not witness any avalanche activity.

[MCR] Ghost condition

Drove in to the south Ghost yesterday (December 3) and the driving was pretty Spicy with 35 to 45 cm  of snow . It was quite windy which was creating the typical snow drifts but we made it to the parking lot with out getting stuck with a stock Tacoma, but barely!   Our objective was Lacy Gibbet but got turned around by a cougar at the 1st lake.  Professors was the usual hook fest!  Last pitch was dry except down low.  We road our bike for a ways and had to hike the rest of the way due to too much snow.

Marco Delesalle

ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide

www.greatdividemountaineering.com

[MCR] Weeping Wall, Rockies, December 3, 2014

Guided the right hand side of the Weeping Wall today. The route is in good shape and protects well throughout. We stayed dry but there is a lot of water flowing on the ice right now. Evidence of one other party climbing one of the center lines following the big snow storm. 

The recent snow has faceted out and there is little in the way of a slab in this area. As a result there was little or no avalanche hazard on this route today. Things could be very different in an area with some wind slab present.

Sun hits the route between 1030 and 1430 right now and Hwy 93N is currently in very good condition.

Conrad Janzen

ACMG / IFMGA Mountain Guide

Banff Mountain Guides

[MCR] Rogers Pass - The Cleaver

Today I went up to The Cleaver below Sapphire Col and found excellent powder with no wind affects down to the Mousetrap, where we ran into the old avalanche debris. Despite the avalanche hazard in the alpine being rated as moderate this morning, we did not feel comfortable going anywhere near the headwall guarding the col due to the facet layer from November. This layer is widespread, as evident from the recent large avalanche cycle, in addition to isolated skier triggered shearing on this layer on the rock slabs approaching the glacier today, and moderate to hard test results with Sudden Collapse character we found down 125cm in our pit near the Triangle Moraine (we did not find any surface hoar). Also of note, the glacier was more broken than I've ever seen it before; even containing small seracs near The Cleaver where I remember a planar slope in previous years.

Enjoy the skiing.

Alex Geary

ACMG Ski Guide

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[MCR] Spray River Falls

Spray River Falls from old Spray fire road today.  Looks like a chunk of the steep pitch fell off.

 

Marc Ledwidge

MG

 

 

 

[MCR] Southern Selkirks, Kootenay Pass

Hi all,

We just wrapped up our first Nelson based AST-1 course of the season. On Saturday we did some companion rescue work at the base of Whitewater ski resort and on Sunday we toured on the sunny slopes of Cornice Ridge at Kootenay Pass.

At Kootenay Pass (1775m) the snowpack is close to 100cm and skiing above this elevation is decent. This area recently received up to 25cm of low density storm snow which is overlying a supportive crust that formed last Friday. This new snow is evenly distributed and we only observed minor wind affect near ridge top. We did some snowpack observations and compression tests at 2000m on an East aspect on Cornice Ridge where the height of snow was 120cm. Tests showed moderate results with sudden collapse characteristics down 80cm on the November 21st layer.  The storm slab overlying this weak layer was in the pencil hardness range and the weak facet layer below in the 1 finger hardness range.

We did not see any avalanches or evidence of a recent cycle, perhaps this was masked by the new storm snow. Many folks were out enjoying the sun and skiing some steeper open terrain. Overall, the conditions are shaping up but it is early season and there are plenty of barely covered hazards, particularly below treeline. 

Have a great start to the winter season!

David Lussier
mountain guide
www.summitmountainguides.com

[MCR] Avalanche Season in Banff, Yoho & Kootenay

To all backcountry users in Banff, Yoho, and Kootenay National Parks:

It's avalanche season again, and Parks Canada will be periodically conducting avalanche control on all avalanche paths that threaten major highways in Banff, Yoho, and Kootenay National Parks.  If you're planning on climbing or skiing in Banff, Yoho, or Kootenay Parks this winter, you need to be aware of which areas may be affected by avalanche control, and how to check if there is any control planned in these areas.  

There will be signage located at common trailheads for Mounts Bourgeau (Banff), Stephen, Dennis and Field (Yoho), and Mt. Whymper (Kootenay).  

The signs look like this:

If the sign is flipped down and indicates that avalanche control is in progress, the area is closed for recreation: DO NOT ENTER.  Most of the time, the signage will indicate that there is no avalanche control planned, and the area will be open for recreation.

In addition to the signage, Parks Canada will post warnings to: the public avalanche bulletin for Banff, Yoho and Kootenay, Parksmountainsafety Twitter and Facebook, the MCR, and community webpages such as Gravsports-ice.com, and Big-lines.com.  

Remember, Parks Canada is conducting avalanche control to protect the highways, and is NOT making the areas safe for recreation.

Finally, be on the lookout for undetonated explosives while recreating in these areas, and contact Parks Canada at 403-762-1470, if any are found.  

Please respect this system and check for closures before recreating in these areas, so that we can all continue enjoying the permit-free system that exists in Banff, Yoho, and Kootenay National Parks.  

Have a safe winter!

Parks Canada Visitor Safety

Banff, Yoho & Kootenay National Parks

www.parksmountainsafety.ca