[MCR] Black Prince Access - Kananaskis December 7, 2013

I was out in the Black Prince area today instructing a group of recreational club trip leaders for the Mountain Skills Academy. 

We did an extended classroom session in the morning waiting for the temperature to rise in Canmore, the morning was a brutally cold -34 deg C.

We went to Black Prince in the afternoon, and temps had risen to -22 deg C at noon.  

The current ski trail beside the creek from the parking lot (skiing north) was through quite thick trees.  We followed it and crossed the creek on a downed tree a couple hundred meters north of the parking lot.  

Poorly functioning skins and cold extremities turned us back before we got to the ski terrain.  We crossed the creek at the same spot, but then skied through the more open trees directly to the highway and then back south to the parking lot.  

Unless a better crossing point exists or freezes up, you might consider following our track north along the highway from the Black Prince turnoff and then through the more open forest to access the north creek crossing.

There was only 40cm of faceted snow, but it supports a skier quite well with some barely adequate mid-pack strength.

Regards,

Jordy Shepherd

ACMG / IFMGA Mountain Guide

www.mountainskillsacademy.com

Email: jordy@peakalpine.com

Cell/Text: 403.609.8561

[MCR] Plain of Six Glaciers and Louise Falls, Lake Louise December 6, 2013

I guided two clients with the assistance of a practicum guide today in the Plain of Six Glaciers area.  Temperatures were quite cool, in the -30 deg C range for most of the day.  We experienced almost no wind, which made for tolerable travel.   We were able to ski across Lake Louise, where there was about 10 cm of snow on the ice.

 

With only about 40cm of snow depth, it carried our skis surprisingly well, even in the boulder fields and on the rocky moraines.  We noted numerous wolverine trails in the snow, not sure if it was from just one wandering wolverine or if there was more than one.

 

The only avalanche activity we noted were a few size 1.5 loose snow point releases from below rock bands near the ridge top on Mt. Whyte that face due south.  No slab avalanche activity was noted.  We did not experience any whumphing.

 

Here is a photo I snapped of Louise Falls as we skied past.

 

Regards,

 

Jordy Shepherd

Mountain Skills Academy

ACMG / IFMGA Mountain Guide

Email: jordy@peakalpine.com

Cell/Text: 403.609.8561

[MCR] Mountain Conditions Report (MCR) on Facebook, Twitter, email and online!

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Stay warm and have a great winter season!

Conrad Janzen

ACMG Mountain Guide

www.acmg.ca

[MCR] Coast Range, Ice Observations - Duffy drive by

I drove south from Goldbridge and over the Duffy Lake road last night.

Bridge Canyon is very slippery and only Night 'n Gale and Old Dogs New Picks were formed enough to consider. Night 'n Gale looked thin but good. Old dogs looked thin and desperate. BVM had an excavator right below Old Dogs pulling out material likely to make storage space for future avalanches that come down the route. I'm not sure how long they inted to be there, but you would be right in the way if you try to climb there. Some of the climbs on the south side of the canyon looked formed but did not touch down...lots of mixed projects to get to them.

Along the Duffy, Synchronicity, Carl's Berg and the Rambles all looked worthwhile. Syncro looked thin throughout, possibly bony in the lower gullies but the main flow looked thick enough to take long screws. Carl's Berg was WI 5+/6 and looked challenging but mostly protectable. The Rambles had several options that looked formed enough to climb. The tube was not there at all.

When we drove through (4pm) the temperature was -8 but was expected to drop to around -20 by the next morning. Not much snow on the ground, so approaches would be alright. I would be very cautious of brittle ice because most of the ice has only formed during the latest cold snap. The road was very slick where ever it came close to the river.

Conny Amelunxen

MG

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[MCR] Cascade Falls, Banff, December 5, 2013

Despite the ridiculously cold temps, we enjoyed a sunny and warm ascent of Cascade Falls today thanks to calm winds and clear skies.  We were able to climb in the sun for all but the final small step in the back of the gully and descended via the walk off/rappel next to "Rogan's Gully". The climb is a little thin but generally in good shape with good protection throughout. Some short ice screw were handy is several spots and care must be taken for the final few meters of the steep pitch where there is only a thin shell of ice over the flowing water.

Until the winds pick up or we get more precipitation the avalanche hazard above the climb seems quite minimal with about 15-30cm of facetted snow on the ground.  Having said that...carrying avalanche gear for climbs like this is not a bad idea at any time.

Cheers, Conrad Janzen
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
www.banffmountainguides.com

[MCR] Rockies, Guinness Gully

I guided an ascent of Guinness Gully today, Dec 3rd. The route is in good shape and it was a pleasant sunny day in Field with no wind on the route. There is a shallow 30 centimetre snow pack to the top of the route and much of the walking is a stumble on rocks lying under a meringue of snow.

Happy trails,

Barry Blanchard
Mountain Guide
www.barryblanchard.ca
www.yamnuska.com




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[MCR] Trophy Range- South Cariboos

The recent weather system has dropped between 35-40 cm of new snow in the past 48 hours in the Trophy Range of the South Cariboos. Below tree line and tree line skiing was very good yesterday with most ground obstacles covered under an average of a 1.0 m snowpack.

The new snow overlies a variety of old surfaces including a widespread surface hoar layer that developed in late November and some pockets of sun crust on steeper solar aspects.

As of yesterday the new snow/surface hoar layer was moderately reactive to ski cutting on small unsupported features at and below tree line- including cracking and propagation. We avoided steep open glades & cut blocks and gully/creek features. 

Once the new snow becomes more consolidated with the forecasted cooler temperatures and high winds- initially it is possible that the SH layer may become very reactive to skier/rider triggering and likely we will see a natural avalanche cycle occur in some areas over the next day or two.

Due to the heavy fog and weather we did not observe the start zones of the larger north facing bowls on Raft Mountain- I would suspect there is certainly some natural loose avalanches occurring with the new snow loading.

The base and mid-snowpack are relatively homogenous with very little in the way of melt freeze crusts etc... It is also very well settled creating an excellent bridging effect allowing good travel for early season. 

So it's time to think more about TERRAIN choices- now that there is a developed snowpack with the seasons first layer of concern. 

Snowing hard in the upper North Thompson this morning~

Dana Foster

ACMG Ski Guide

CAA Professional Member

Snowy Mountain Alpine Tours

Authentic Mountain Trips

O 250 674 2988

M 250 674 8069

snowymountain.ca