[MCR] K-Country ice conditions

The following are some various ice conditions. The only one I actually climbed is R&D today. The others are based on viewing them from either the road or other vantage points.

 

R&D: In good early season shape (Oct 31) and has seen lots of traffic. It offers good hooking on dry ice on the lower half then very wet plastic ice on the upper half. It will take 16cm screws anywhere. The cold temps (-14C @ 13:30 at the base of the route) combined with the dripping wet ice makes the ropes icy very quickly. Beware of rappel ropes freezing to the ice surface. Pull them immediately. The approach has a well beaten trail.

 

Other conditions:

 

Chalice and the Blade / Spoon and Lone Ranger: Not formed

 

Parallel Falls: Not formed

 

Trick or Treat: It's formed but the 4 hour approach over snowy frozen scree might not be worth it.

 

Cabrio and Centaur: Far from being formed as viewed from Wind Tower on Oct 24

 

Arterial Spurt: Just a thin veneer as viewed from Heart Mountain on Oct 26

 

Whiteman's Falls: A waterfall in the most truest since of the word as in lots of gushing water.

 

Happy ice hunting,

 

Sean Isaac

 

 

[MCR] Hudson Bay Mountain 28-29 October 06

The season started very early in the Bulkley Valley. I measured 55 cm at
0 degrees by my house at 500 m elevation in the valley bottom at 0800
yesterday, and it continued snowing until 1300 on the 28th. Since then,
it has been slowly clearing and cooling. The ski hill reported 125 cm at
1600 m yesterday, 60 cm of which fell in 24 hours. I called a high
hazard for the Davidson Project Road on Hudson Bay Mountain.

This morning, I went on a helicopter check flight at 10. Debris and
fracture lines from numerous size 2 and 3 slabs was blown in, but
clearly visible. It appears that most avalanche prone terrain has
avalanched, even terrain that does not run frequently. Debris was within
20 m of the # 7 switchback on the road.

At the usual observation site at 1500 m, there were 130 cm of snow on
the ground.

The present cooling trend will probably stabilize this early snowpack in
the short term.
--
Christoph Dietzfelbinger
Mountain Guide, Bear Mountaineering and Burnie Glacier Chalet
Box 4222
Smithers, B.C. V0J 2N0 Canada
tel. 250-847-3351 fax: 250-847-2854
info@bearmountaineering.ca www.bearmountaineering.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.
Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.

[MCR] Glacier Park Snow Information - October 27th

Glacier National Park

October 27th at 13:00

30 cm snowpack at treeline (Mount Fidelity station - 1900m).
Temperature: 0 deg C

Heavy rain at Rogers Pass elevation (1330m). 10-15 cm of wet slushy snow on
the ground.

Heavy Rainfall Warning continued by Environment Canada (snow at higher
elevations).

Wax those skis!

Jordy Shepherd
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.

[MCR] Bow Valley Rock

I'm sure the cold temps and snow has everyone thinking about skiing
and early ice, but just in case anyone is still bare-handing it out
there, I thought I'd pass on some rock conditions. I was up the
regular route on Chinaman's yesterday with a guest and then on the
West ridge of Mt. Buller today.

On Ha Ling, though some of the lower face is still quite clear of
snow, much of the low angled rock has received a fresh dusting of
snow and the big ledges are starting to drift over. Ice has begun to
fill in some cracks and runnels as well, particularly in the upper
half of the face, making the last 2-3 pitches cruxy. Despite having
to excavate handholds, we still found the route to be in climbable
shape and a good refresher for colder conditions ahead.

Despite a dry day in Canmore today, K-country is already snow
plastered on most aspects, though only a dusting below treeline, and
was storming this afternoon. 1-2cm of snow and ice has accumulated on
the lee aspects of the ridge on Buller. Travel was still relatively
straightforward on mostly exposed rock, and made for a pleasant (ish)
option in these transitional days. By midday, the weather was
'freshening' with sub-zero temps and strong SW winds (60 km/h gusting
to 100km/h+) blowing ice pellets which accumulated but did not
adhere. Much more white than grey up there now.

Have at it!

Carl Johnston
Rock 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.

[MCR] Mountain Conditions Summary for October 26

Mountain Conditions Summary for October 26

A moist, cool and winter weather pattern will be the trend through the
weekend.

Lake Louise presently has light snow falling, and the Bow Valley from Lake
Louise through to Canmore is experiencing high winds, up to 130km/hr at
ridgetop. Expect the 5-10 cm of storm snow and the previous thin snowpack to
be extensively redistributed with the high winds. There may be pockets of
windslab, and expect quite variable snow cover in the alpine and at treeline
(bare in wind exposed areas, and loaded on lee slopes).

The Icefields area received 10-15 cm of snow overnight. Start to think winter,
avalanches, and watch for thinly bridged crevasses on the glaciers.

It has been snowing all day at Rogers Pass, with 10-15 cm of wet new snow at
treeline. The storm is presently building a good snowpack base, and hopefully
the precipitation keeps coming.

The forecast is for wet and cool weather for the interior ranges (Rockies /
Columbias) on Friday and Saturday. Sunday and Monday look to be substantially
cooler, with sub-zero high temperatures in the Banff and Jasper townsites, and
lows down to -13 deg C.

The combination of wet weather and cooling temperatures should do good things
for waterfall ice formation.

Jordy Shepherd
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.

[MCR] Bugaboos

I was in the bugaboo's yesterday( Oct 21 ). Not as much snow as I was expecting, 10 to 15cm's at applebee campground in places where it wasn't melted off, temp there at 1pm was 0. No ice below snow on snowpatch. Nice day in there. Whoever did all the trail work good on ya. It's much improved. Thanks

Cheers

Todd Craig Mtn guide

[MCR] Mountain Conditions Summary October 19

It is starting to feel like winter in most of the mountainous areas of western
Canada.

In the Rockies (Banff to Jasper) the freezing level is at treeline, with recent
storm snow of up to 10-15 cm. The wind is transporting this new snow, and
there will be some slab development. Temperatures were hovering around 0
degrees Celsius in the Columbia Icefields area over the past 24 hrs. There is
still bare ice showing low down on the Athabasca Glacier, with the wind
scraping off the 3 cm of snowfall recorded in the last 24 hrs.

No recent reports from the Bugaboos, but I suspect there is storm snow
down to at least the Kain Hut elevation.

In the Selkirks, the snowline is down to about 1300m, and as I write there are
fat snowflakes falling at Rogers Pass in Glacier Park. There is about 10 cm of
snow on the ground at treeline.

The forecast for the Rockies and Selkirks is clearing skies on Friday night,
with sub-zero temperatures in the mornings, and warming in the afternoon with
some sunshine. Conditions will change rapidly with the solar radiation after
this storm period, and there may be a solar induced avalanche cycle this
weekend if the forecast is correct.

Start to think like winter, watch your exposure to open lee slopes and gully
features that may have a significant amount of windloading.

Watch for thinly bridged and hidden crevasses if you venture out onto the
glaciers this weekend.

It is shaping up to be a beautiful weekend in the mountains, with a combination
of fresh snow, Fall colors, and sunny weather. Have fun and bring a camera!

Jordy Shepherd
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.

[MCR] Revelstoke Area Conditions - October 13

Spent the last three days rock guiding and instructing on the crags around Revelstoke.  Dry, sunny and warm: perfect rock climbing conditions! 

 

The alpine looks to be pretty dry, with a dusting of cold snow remaining above 2700m.  Routes like the west ridge of Tupper and the SW ridge on Uto would be climbable, but the days are short and the rock will be cold.  For a fast party, these routes would be obtainable.  The forecast looks good for tomorrow (Saturday), with a downtrend to cool and moist for Sunday/Monday. 

 

Jordy Shepherd

Mountain Guide

[MCR] Athabasca

Climbed the North Glacier Ramp on Athabasca today (Oct 12). Beautiful sunny day accompanied by a constant cold NW wind. Left the car at 5:00am (-3 Celsius) and reached the summit at 11:00am (-1 Celsius). Many spots of the track are blown over with drifting snow making for tough trail-breaking. 40 - 50cm of snow on the actual ramp traverse (layered crusts and facets) but no real slab development, yet. More snow and wind would make it spooky. We descended the AA Col which is in good shape with 20-30cm of crusty snow over the scree making for nice downhill walking to the AA Glacier.

 

Silverhorn is snowy but the North Face and North Face Bypass both looked in good shape and have been climbed recently according to the climber's sign-in book at the parking lot. The A-Strain looked pretty scrapy with the lower gully showing lots of rock and the exit ice pitch not fully there.

 

Note: The Icefields Campground is closed for the season.

 

Sean Isaac

Assistant Alpine Guide

 

 

[MCR] Collier

Erica Roles and I had a recreational day out on the west ridge of
Collier yesterday, Oct 9.

20-30 cm of low density faceting snow overlies a melt freeze crusts on
most slopes. Surface hoar on the surface. On steep south aspects the
surface snow is getting a bit moist. No slabbing noted on any aspects
or elevations. I popped a small chunk of soft cornice near the summit,
it didn't propagate but did trigger a moist loose snow sluff down the
steep south facing gully below that may have turned into a small size 2
by the time it hit the glacier.

Descent was made down the north glacier/north ridge to the Lake O'Hara
road. It would have been good skiing on the glacier!

This route is highly recommended. Firm rock, steep climbing on big
bucket holds with an interesting approach and descent made for a great
day out in perfect indian summer weather.

Mark Klassen
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.

[MCR] Mt Fay W ridge, Perren Route

Sunday Oct 8:

Perren route -- there is a dusting of snow on the rock starting at valley
bottom and steadily increasing in volume the higher you go. On the Perren
step, most holds have a little snow or ice on them. Overall this made for
slower going. Past the two bolted pitches we traversed far right and climbed
the left margin of the glacier to bypass the last step ("M2") rather than
stick to the icy rock, which worked well.

Glacier/Mt Fay W ridge -- there is about 5-7 cm of low density, facetted
storm snow above 2700 m, 1 mm surface hoar observed. This has been
redistributed somewhat by wind, but we didn't see any major cornice
development or windloading. Still, I did kick off a small reactive soft slab
(20 cm thick & 4 m wide at the crown, broke clean and fast) right at the lip
approaching the Bergschrund, I imagine from spindrift floating down from the
steep slope above. The schrund is spectacular, but easily negotiated on the
climber's left. The slope itself was partly cleaned out by sloughing and the
remaining 5-15 cm of snow is mostly facetted and non-consolidated with
brittle ice below.

Temperatures: -6 C at 5 am in the parking lot at Moraine Lake, -7 C at 1 pm
at 2800 m. Little to no wind throughout the day.

My major concern in this area would be isolated pockets of windloading. I
would be extra-cautious, for example, of the steps on the north glacier
route on the far left (Chouinard Route).

Regards,
Tom Wolfe
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.

[MCR] NE Ridge of Wedge mountain (Coast range)

Out on the NE ridge of Wedge yesterday.
The hut is totally re-done. New roof, door paint,
ext... As well parks Canada has built new camping
sites at the hut and the lower ones at the lake. There
is also a fine new trail from the hut to the lake.
Glacier travel was the same as usual. Going far
left in the beginning and then right at the short mid
section at mid height works best to avoid the bulk of
the crevasses. We took the glacier all the way to the
upper ridge.This still works quite well. The 200m
steep section on the right has a nice few meter wide
path of snow to avoid the blue ice. The upper bench
has no major holes to navigate around.
The knife edge section on the NE ridge is a bit
more "real" than usual. The ridge has many exposed
sections of blue ice or very hard firn snow. This
makes for exposed climb and more cation needs to be
taken than regularly. A few more ice screws on the
rack should help out. The upper face section either
has a 50 degree blue ice section or 100m section of
kinda loose rock.
Temperatures were cool all day with below 0
temperatures above 7500 ft. With these temperatures
there was no softening of the snow or ice throughout
the day.
Have fun. Craig McGee, IFMGA Mountain guide.

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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.
Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.

[MCR] Mountain Conditions Report for October 5, 2006

The good news is that there are great fall conditions out there right now.
In the Rockies, the front ranges are dry and snow and ice conditions along
the divide make for good climbing. With the exception of north aspects,
snow has melted back to about 2900 metres. The bad news is that if the
forecast is correct and the big black clouds moving in mean something, this
will all likely change overnight. This may have been the last window for
Louis, Castle, Roche Miette, Roche Perdrix etc. Rain is starting in Banff
as I type. It looks like a significant amount of precip is expected over
the next 24 hours. Snow is expected at most elevations. This is to be
followed by stable weather but this time of year, routes take longer to dry
off. By Sunday though, south facing lower elevation rock routes might come
back into shape.

In the Bugaboos, the September snows have also mostly melted off and
conditions there are good. Again, on north facing routes such as the NE
ridge of Bugaboo, you can expect some remnant snow but it should be
climbable. The weather there as of this evening is still stable but the
next 24 hours will tell the story. Stay tuned.

Marc Ledwidge
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.

[MCR] BD Harness Recall

Hello:

Hope this hasn't already been posted.  Been away.

 

Paul Vidalin

IFMGA Mountain Guide

 

 

 

 

http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/recalls/reclfull/2006/16aaug2006.h

 

http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/about/speed_harness_bulletin.php

[MCR] Wooley-Diadem

Climbed Wooley and Diadem today via the S Face of Wooley (from the
Alberta Hut) and the intervening ridge between the two peaks to Diadem.

2 cm of new snow last night at the hut resulted in variable new snow
distribution on the peaks. Up to knee deep in isolated drifts,
generally far less than that with many areas scoured from gusty
westerly winds. It was reasonably easy to work around the loaded areas.
That said there has been some loading on E and NE slopes, and I noticed
that there were facets under the new snow on shaded slopes.

Descent was made down the the gully that drops SE from the col between
the two peaks. Icefall hazard here in the lower part of the gully.

It stayed fairly cool all day with the new snow staying dry except on
steep S facing lower elevation areas protected from the wind.

Mark Klassen
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.

[MCR] columbia icefields/ mt athabasca

Observations from several guides working in the Columbia icefields the last few days. 

The storm snow from last week has been subjected to some melt freeze cycles up to at least 3400m.  The resultant crust in largely unsupportive and makes for somewhat difficult trail breaking where no trail exists.  (shin scrapping).  Boot penetration ranges from 0-30cm.  North glacier, North Face bypass, and silverhorn routes were all climbed on Saturday.  Good conditions were found on all.  Mostly snow climbing with good footing on the silverhorn with a few bare ice sections.  Nface bypass good snow steps, upper rock ridge snow covered.  Good track on N glacier ramp.  N face looked great with a mix of bare ice and some snow patches, crux pitch looked like rock not ice. 

Generally cool conditions throughout the trip with above freezing temps (+5) in campground in the mornings, but at glacier elevations things stayed frozen all day (yesterday).  Last night there was a trace of new snow right to valley bottom, and a good freeze in the campground (-1@0700).

No avalanche observations but evidence of moist sluffs and pinwheeling from last week’s  warm daytime temps.

Looks like some mixed alpine routes are coming in, but after our warm summer, lots are looking fairly dry.

 

Melt freeze crust could provide a sliding layer with the next major snow/ wind event.

 

Cheers

Jeff Honig-  Mountain Guide

 

 

Jeff Honig

Mountain Guide

Alpine Addictions

Box 1106

Revelstoke BC

V0E2S0

(250)837-2215 (home)

(240)837-1333 (cell)

jeff@alpineaddictions.com