[MCR] Avalanche season in the Rockies

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 climbing on Mounts Bourgeau (Banff), Stephen and Dennis (Yoho), and skiing on Mt. Whymper (Kootenay).  

The signs look like this:

If the signage indicates that avalanche control is planned, 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 a warning 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 Team
Banff, Yoho, & Kootenay National Parks
www.parksmountainsafety.ca
www.parcsecuritemontagne.ca

[MCR] Yahoo glacier, Purcell mountains

Hi all,

We had an adventurous early season ski tour up the Yahoo glacier in the Purcell mountains yesterday. This north facing glacier is located 22km south of Bugaboo Provincial Park near the headwaters of Howser creek. We access it by vehicle via Howser creek forest service road east of Duncan lake. Due to the lack of snow at lower elevation, we were able to drive with-in a few kilometers from the end of the road to 1700m. 

The snowpack varied from 40cm at 1700m to 130cm at 2700m on the Yahoo glacier. There was a significant snow depth increase around 1900m where the average snowpack went from 40-50cm to 90cm. Traveling conditions were good and snowpack quite supportive considering the low snow amounts and time of the year.  The skiing above 1900m was quite good in smooth open terrain features and the ski penetration was about 20cm. Below 1900m, the skiing was challenging on a "mainly" supportive 1-2cm crust. We had to be quite careful picking our lines and negotiating the early season hazards.

We did not see any signs of instability or recent avalanches. Our snowpack observations above 1900m showed a 2-3cm crust layer down 40-50cm similar to the one reported in the Rogers Pass area last week. The shears observed on this layer were in the moderate to hard "resistant" planar range and failing in soft faceted crystals (sugar like snow) just above the crust.

A fun adventure and great way to start a new season. Discovering a large ice cave at the toe of the glacier was the highlight of the day!

Cheers,

David Lussier
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
www.summitmountainguides.com

[MCR] Highwood Pass, Kananaskis, Rockies

Hello,

I skied in the Pocaterra Cirque area, southwest of Highwood pass, today,
Nov.11th.

Our elevation range was 2200m to 2650m.
temp -12 at 13:30 at 2550m
2mm surface hoar was observed in sheltered areas.
Average of 55cm of snow.
The top 20cm was very low density, which was on top of a rain crust. This
rain crust was most prominent/thickest from our starting elevation up to
2500m. It was still observed at out highpoint (2650m) but was not as thick.
This rain crust will be a problematic sliding layer.

The basil facets were moist.

There was no wind in our little protected valley, but the alpine faces and
ridge tops had plumes of snow raging off of them(westerly winds). This
windloading resulted in a class 1.5 avalanche that we witnessed come down an
east aspect at ~2600m. This slide came down above (but did not hit) a group
skinning up a slope below the alpine face.

I would avoid areas with windloading. Slabs on top of this rain crust will
be very unstable. Note that slopes below big alpine rock faces can receive
massive amounts of snow loading as a result of snow streaming down the
rockface and piling up on the snow slopes below, even though the slope
itself may not be exposed to the wind.

Good skiing was found in the alpine, with surprisingly little wind
affect/slabs.

A stunning day in the mountains!

Neil Warren
ACMG Ski Guide

www.alpinethreadworks.com
_______________________________________________
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] Sunshine backcountry

I spent the day ski touring around Sunshine Village ski resort. The snowpack is variable, averaging about 60 cm deep at treeline. A 1-2 cm thick melt-freeze crust layer down about 45-50 cm (near ground, Nov 6?) creates a supportive base -- we didn't hit any rocks today, miraculously. Alpine ski quality was poor -- catchy, crusty, upside down and wind affected with 35+ cm of storm snow that's been blow around above treeline. In the trees and in sheltered areas ski quality was pretty good.

 

I didn't observe any cracking or whumpfing in the storm snow or at the crust interface.

Tom Wolfe
Mountain Guide ACMG/IFMGA
Canmore, AB

[MCR] Rockies- Icefall Lodge Nov 6-8/2012

I skied up to Icefall Lodge for a few days. There was heavy snowfall on Nov 6 and 7th with 45 cm of new snow. The snow tapered off on the 8th with some clear breaks. The snowpack was at 115 cm at 1900m when I left on the 8th. The snowpack decreases rapidly below 1500m and I had to walk below 1300m. The temperatures were 0 at 1900 m on the 6th and cooled to -7 when I left.
There seems to be a good bond between the storm snow and the dense snow below. There was no cracking or other signs of instability in areas skied at treeline and below. One natural avalanche, size 2 east aspect at 2500 m was observed. This was a wind loaded 45 degree slope below ridge line that ran during the storm. Excellent skiing with up 170 cm of snow at 2200m.

Larry Dolecki
IFMGA Mountain Guide
www.icefall.ca



_______________________________________________
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] Slekirk Mountains - Rogers Pass - Balu/Bruins Pass Nov.8/2012

Went for a much needed tour up Connaught Ck. today with numerous other outdoor enthusiasts.

 

Weather was in an out fog and light snow flurries with the occasional ray of sunshine hitting the slopes – temps were -2 at the parking lot and -7 at 2200m.

 

There were a few recent avalanches to size 2.5 that ran during the warm period of the last few days(off the North Aspect of Cheops) and a couple of dry loose size 1.0 sluffs off of Pk. 8812 that ran into upper 8812 bowl.

 

The snowpack depth varies dramatically with elevation - @40cms in the lower valley (way less on the treed section of the lower trail – meaning dirt at times) – with 100cms to 200cms(depending of if it is scoured or loaded by the winds) above 2000m.

 

In our profile (which was 135cms deep – so kind of average for the area) we had 40cms of recent soft storm snow (fist to 4 finger resistance) which was overlying a rain crust sandwich – this sandwich consisted of an upper 1cm crust separated by 10cms of soft dry snow from another 1 cm crust. Below that the snow became progressively stronger and was moist for the lower 60cms. This is not a great set up and I suspect that over time that the snow trapped between these crusts will not gain strength or bond well – time will tell but this layer deserves to be monitored.

 

The other key observation was the presence of variable wind slabs in the upper 40cms of storm snow. This was my primary concern today and I was avoiding steeper ridgecrest features that may have had stiffer snow from the recent strong winds.

 

All in all it is still a pretty new snowpack with a few potential issues and not a lot of observations to base aggressive decisions on.

 

As for the trail out – I wore my helmet – need I say more!

 

Cheers,

Scott Davis

ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide

[MCR] ACMG Mountain Conditions Report Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued November 8th, 2012

ACMG Mountain Conditions Report Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued November 8th, 2012 Winter is easing in gently to these ranges. Terrible winter driving on the east slope of the Rockies today and the forecast is for snow there till late friday. Reports are coming in about some decent skiing in the high treeline and alpine in the interior and some areas in the Rockies. Assume it will be really rugged at lower elevations and that slow speeds and big skis are great ideas. Parks Canada is putting out avalanche bulletins and they are worth reading. Keep in mind with those reports and with this MCR summary that we have relatively few observations to go by at this time of year. Anywhere you go in the alpine expect to be your own avalanche forecaster. The consequences of a ride in an avalanche are likely higher than later in the year as the potential to be raked across rocks is much higher in this shallow snowpack. To quote the Glacier Park bulletin--"33 cm of storm snow in the past 36 hrs has resulted in an instability over a crust and old snow. This has been observed in a small avalanche cycle with size 2 to 3 avalanches early Nov 7 and shows in stability tests at treeline" They have also had alpine and treeline winds from the south up to 60 kmh in the past 3 days That is going to help the snow cover but definitely means you need your brain turned up high for choosing where to ski in the Columbia mtns People are getting after some ice climbing and the cold temperatures in the Rockies forecasts should help the ice hold together. Beware those little fresh snow drifts above cliffs and in gullies and think about what is way over your head with all this new snow, wind and changing temperatures in the Rockies. Glacier travel will be sporty for awhile yet as we really do not have a settled snowpack on the glaciers at this time. Days are short and the mountains are somewhat unfriendly. Have a fine weekend that contributes to you having a fine rest of winter. Survive and thrive! Next week will be the final MCR summary for the season. The Canadian Avalanche Centre should be starting up their public bulletins around that time. Thanks for tuning in. Larry Stanier ACMG Mountain Guide
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.