ACMG Mountain Conditions Report Archive: February 2007

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

[MCR] Feb 04 Surface Hoar Discussion

I fear that my last post which mentioned the Feb 04 surface hoar was
oversimplified. The reason I mentioned this layer in my post in the first
place was that I was worried someone might misinterprate
the fact that we were skiing bigger more agressive lines as a sign
stability/hazard had improved. Reality is that in most locations of the
interior, it is still a grave concern, however here at Battle Abbey, after
carefull study it is not...

I regret this over simplification and urge folks to make real sure this
scary beast of a layer is not hiding under your ski's! Here is how I came to
be comfortable that at Battle Abbey it was not an issue.
1: First of all the layer is not only surface hoar but a collection of
possible crusts, facets and/or a combo of these. It has caused many
accidents and close calls. So at first I was very wary.
2. I received information from a credible source, one of the owners who has
been guiding at the Abbey since Feb 7th said that this layer was isolated
there and that high winds, sun and settlement had all contributed to
strengthening its bond. Our tests over a few days also showed an improving
trend.
3. We skied conservative terrain to start the week, using many tools to test
stability: ski cutting convex rolls, looking for any signs of weakness,
doing shear and compression tests, skiing known indicator slopes and
checking out stability in frequent flyers (slopes that avalanche often).
4. Finally after a few days of this, I eased my way carefully into some
steeper terrain in the most conservative manner. We also called stability
good in the Alpine, treeline and below treeline every day since I got here.
Finally we eased our way carefully in bigger lines.

I appologize for my original oversimplication and attribute my oversight or
rather undersight, to the fact that the MCR serves both the public and the
proffessional. As such I tried to find the middle ground, not telling pro's
how to do their jobs, while at the same time giving the typical
recreationalist a caution. In reality it is much more accurate to be very
precise and informative rather than taking anything for granted, after all
the pro's are used to sifting through info they do not need that could be
crucial to a less experienced person's decision making. Never take anything
for granted!
Happy and safe skiing, Eric, ACMG 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.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

[MCR] Battle Abbey- Selkirks

I thought I would mention the Feb 04 Surface Hoar as I am sure it is causing
some confussion as to its current hazard. It has been a big problem in many
areas of the Interior Ranges, just as it has not been a big problem for many
of these areas neighbours. There for it is an isolated problem making that
much harder to judge.
Here at the Abbey as I observed also at RK Heli skiing in the Purcells and
Monashee Powder in the Monashee's the February 04 surface hoar has been an
isolated phenomenon and not been the persistant problem causing natural and
skier triggered avalanches. In these areas, this layer of concern is still
evident anywhere between 50 and 100cm and shows up now as slightly stiffer
layer where the density change is slight, the bond strengthening well and no
sigh of surface hoar crystals. In shallower areas facets can be found above
it. Generally it is producing hard and resistant planar or borken results.
Here at Battle Abbey we have found snow stability in all elevations to be
good with only the storm snow sluffing. Very thin soft slabs were found in
lee loaded areas. We are taking advantage of the good stability and weather
to ski bigger and steeper lines off summits. As many other locations are
doing. At the same time some locations are still reporting avalanches on
this layer. Since this is the case, I suggest before comitting to a slope,
dig a few quick test pits down 1meter 20 and if its there, compression/shear
tests will reveal it. Solar aspects are also beginning to soften up enough
that the next very warm day I will deffinately proceed with greater caution
especially at Tree line and below. Happy Trails, Eric Dumerac, ACMG guide.

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[MCR] Nelson Region.

Hey all, just spent a few days of high quality skiing/working in the WhiteH2O
Region as Brian Gould had mentioned.
The skiing has been great down here, but they certainly do have some snowpack
issues. Today, skiing into a clearing on a well packed up track our group
experienced a large settlement that a group member 50m away felt, of note that
we never stepped off the track. Wondering what had settled and suspecting the
Feb
4layer, went looking. A frightening CTE 3, down 60cm, on V overtop of a
suncrust layer was found. Surface hoar crystals were perfectly preserved at 10mm
in size. Entire block slowly slid out part way for a sudden planer result, this
was on an East aspect at 1700m, 20 degrees.
The previous day down 40cm on a North aspect at 2200m the most amazing Graupel
layer was discovered, CTE 8, collapse. The layer simple flowed out of the
column when it failed, the perfect ball bearing sliding layer.
This particular day, I heard one group yelling avalanche and saw the debris
moving with skiers along side it, no one caught. Then descending back into the
ski area, witnessed several skier triggered avalanches size 1-2, very close to
the ski area boundary. All running in the previous nights loading. Busy weekend
for the Cold smoke fest, with lots of people running around in the backcountry.
As Brian mentioned the locals must be aware of the snowpack issues, through
their own knowledge and the local bulletins, due to the amount of big
attractive,uniform lines that have not been skied yet.
As Karl mentioned, there really is a serious issue in the snowpack that will
probably last the rest of this winter. Remember, a layer of surface hoar that
is well established will often require aprox 80-100cm on top of it for it to
become more reactive.
Be brave, safe and curious.

Rich Marshall
Mountain Guide.
_______________________________________________
Rockies/Intalex brought to you by
The Informalex: The World's Biggest Guides' Meeting
http://informalex.org

----- End forwarded message -----

Sunday, February 25, 2007

FWD: [MCR] Barrvox

Hi Ken,

Hope you are doing well, I am emailing you since I am the MCR editor and am tasked with watching the MCR. Our commitee has recently agreed to put more emphasis on keeping the MCR clean. I am assuming that you intended to send your Barryvox message out on the Informalex, and sent it to the MCR by mistake??

The Informalex is the place for opinion like these, the MCR is for mountain conditions. I think if there was some kind of official recall or otherwise then we might consider it, but my guess is that a message like this on the MCR will only undermine public confidence in Barryvox, but they have nowhere to go with this info since this is not an online forum they can respond to and ask questions. If indeed the Barryvox is not good then OK, but lets not broadcast that to the public via the MCR . . .

Can we keep the MCR to mtn conditions please? Thanks man.

Grant

---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: Public Mountain Conditions Report <mcr@informalex.org>
Reply-To: mcr@informalex.org
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2007 18:10:44 -0800

Hi All

I have given up on my Barryvox opto 3000 completely. This week it
completely died and would not switch on. I changed the batteries,
scrubbed the terminals, Etc Etc. I will send it back to Barryvox But I
will not request that they fix it or send me another model or anything.
I have lost all confidence in this unit/company.

Ken wylie IFMGA

Ken Wylie
Adventure Programs Department
Thompson Rivers University
900 McGill Road
P.O. Box 30 10
Kamloops, B.C.
Canada
V2C-5N3
(250) 371-5844
kwylie@tru.ca
www.adventureprograms.ca

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[MCR] Barrvox

Hi All

Ken wylie IFMGA

Ken Wylie
Adventure Programs Department
Thompson Rivers University
900 McGill Road
P.O. Box 30 10
Kamloops, B.C.
Canada
V2C-5N3
(250) 371-5844
kwylie@tru.ca
www.adventureprograms.ca

[MCR] Stanley Valley, Feb 24

Ski toured to below Nemisis yesterday. 2 class 1-2 avalanches out of
the summit gulleys of Mt Whymper running the top third and half way
down their paths, SE aspect.

Got one whumpf 50 m above the house sized rock below Nemisis at the
change of angle from 18-25 degrees. One party on Suffer Machine,
snowshoe trails up to Suffer Machine, Nemisis and traverse trail into
French Reality.

Happy trails

Barry Blanchard
Mountain Guide
Yamnuska Mountain Adventures
_______________________________________________
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.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

[MCR] Parkway avalanches

A drive up the Parkway to climb on the Weeping Wall today revealed a
few recent avalanches, probably in the past 24-72 hrs, size 2 -3,
between Lake Louise and Saskatchewan Crossing.

No surprise as to what terrain they were on: alpine east aspect
slopes below cliff bands. Most seem to have been triggered by cornice
fall but the most impressive slide did not have cornices above it.
This was a size 3 on a SE aspect in the Waterfowl Lakes area. It was
on a large slope, had propagated a couple of hundred meters across
the slope and ran hundreds of meters to the valley bottom. Possibly
triggered by sluffing from above off the steep cliffs dotted with
snow patches and crisscrossed by gullies.

A beautiful day on the Weeping Wall, quite warm though causing screws
to begin to melt out. All routes in good nick and only a couple of
parties scattered on the cliff.

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] more info on Glacier Park conditions

Further to the previous information from Glacier National Park, you can find photos of some recent avalanches at:

http://avalancheinfo.net/Parks/Glacier/Images/

recent profiles are posted at:

http://avalancheinfo.net/Parks/Glacier/Profiles/

If you are reading the GNP avalanche bulletin these links are named: "Images" and "Profiles" and are found in the grey bar on the left side of the bulletin page.

Karl Klassen
Mountain Guide
1735 Westerburg Road
Revelstoke, BC
Canada
V0E 2S1
250-837-3733
kklassen@rctvonline.net

[MCR] from Glacier National Park

The following was sent to me by Anna Brown at Glacier National Park. She seems to be having trouble getting it into the MCR so I am posting it for her. Apologies if you get this twice.

In the last 2 days there have been 3 near misses in Glacier Park. Even though these have been reported in the industry exchange and the bulletin I would like to highlight them as I think they are examples of the complicated and difficult nature of forecasting the hazard and stability at present.

Some details to start:
Feb.4 Surface Hoar is now down 50cm to 115cm depending on elevation and location. The depth of the slab can vary up to 20-30cm within 100m. Parties are still getting wumphing, remote triggers, which given the depth of the surface hoar is impressive. The slab above the surface hoar is now consolidated into a cohesive unit which breaks into large blocks.

Let me start by saying parties have been able to go into some steep terrain and ski obvious avalanche paths and without getting into trouble; no avalanches triggered and there are not many natural avalanches being observed. Example, both West aspect slide paths off McGill shoulder and skiers left of Grizzly Shoulder from above the rock band (known locally as Puff Daddy) have tracks across and down them. Unfortunately this can offer a sense of confidence or "negative feedback". We skied it, nothing happened, so logical reasoning would lead you to believe the slope next to it, similar terrain, aspect elevation, angle etc. will be just as good.

I am pretty sure this is not the case.

Wednesday, February 21
The group involved skis an average of 4 days per week, all winter, they were local to the area, at least one of them has a CAA Level 1 training and all of them have recreational avalanche training. They are fit, strong, experienced skiers.

1 p.m. Wed. Feb.21 in the area of Flat Creek on the west side of the park across the Illecillewaet from Bostock/McGill parking lot, a party of 6 were skiing the top of the NE facing slide path from 2100m off the shoulder of Fortitude Pk. They were on their 2nd lap, first skier down triggered a slab which knocked him down, carried him for 20m, then he was able to push out and ski off the edge of the slab. The avalanche ended running 400m onto a bench, breaking small trees in the runout. Estimate size 2.5, possibly on Feb.4 Surface Hoar with a 65cm deep fracture line on 25-30 degree slope.

Thursday, February 22
A group of 4 skied down to Glacier Station (CPR railyard across from Asulkan parking lot) from Napoleon Spur (ridge off Cheops across from NRC gully). Slope aspect South, angle 30 deg. They negotiated steep upper section triggering only a very small slab on a steep roll. In the lower angle section in the bottom half of the run the first skier down triggered a 80m wide, 200m long, 80-100cm deep slab that took him for a washing machine ride, spat him out on the surface but he lost his skis, a pole and other clothing. Bed Surface was Surface Hoar on Crust. Again this group has skied in Rogers Pass for over 10 years, local to the area, ski a lot all season, all had avalanche courses.

Summary:
The snowpack right now is surprising experienced people, guides, forecasters and recreational skiers alike. We know the layer is there. We know you can trigger it with one person. We know the consequences are increasing as the slab depth increases. I would liken the situation a bit to a minefield, with sporadic feedback coming to the skier from the snow.

Please check in to the Rogers Pass Center, read the bulletin and other forecasts, ask lots of questions and report any involvements or observations from your days out there.

Anna Brown
ACMG Ski Guide
Mount Revelstoke Glacier National Park
Box 350 Revelstoke, B.C. V0E 2S
250 814-5218 (office)

Thursday, February 22, 2007

[MCR] Chickadee Valley

Hello,

Skied in the first slide path up Chickadee Valley today. Did an extensive pit at the bottom of the path. Multiple moderate compression test results down 35cm on a facetted crust layer and hard compression test results down 70cm in depth hoar. Both failures gave broken shears. A Rutschblock test gave a score of 6 with a failure of less than half the block (broken shear). Southerly aspect.

This information was taken with a grain of salt as on the other side of the Valley there were multiple recent size 2 avalanches. As we toured further up the path the crust down 35cm became more pronounced and hand shears gave cleaner failures.

As in Karl's MCR this just shows the difficulty in assessing the avalanche conditions right now.

Good ski quality on the way down.

Keep your heads up,

Jesse de Montigny

Assistant Ski guide

Assistant Alpine Guide

[MCR] Parkway skiing

Yesterday (Wed, Feb 21) we were skiing below treeline on an east
aspect on the Icefields Parkway. 30-40 cm of low density recent storm
snow on top of a well-settled base. No significant shears noted
within the storm snow or at the old snow interface, with no surface
hoar at that interface.

A fair bit of recent avalanche activity was noted out of steep,
cliffy alpine slopes, up to size 2.5, running to mid-fan in the run-
outs (past 48 hrs or so). This corresponds to what we observed last
Sunday in the Bow Hut area, where we saw cornice falls to size 2.5.

We stayed in the trees and close to the trimlines of runout zones, we
felt a bit spooked venturing further into the runouts with wind and
snow squalls occurring up in the alpine, recent avalanche activity
and the Parks danger rating of Considerable at treeline and alpine.

Excellent ski quality in the trees.

[MCR] mid season overview

Over the past month I've been watching the snowpack very closely--both while guiding earlier in the month and now producing the Public Avalanche Forecasts for the Canadian Avalanche Centre for the past week or so.

There has been a steady and escalating series of incidents in the last 5-7 days. Skiers have been and continue to accidentally trigger avalanches and in many cases, are getting caught in the slides they trigger. So far, everyone has been lucky and has escaped without serious consequences.

In the last 48 hours I'm aware of the following notable incidents:

A size 2.5 avalanche which had extensive old tracks in the bed surface.
A three-person, partial burial involvement with non-life-threatening injuries to one skier in a size 1.5
A size 2 skier triggered soft slab that propagated through an area below a steep cliff that generally sees a lot of self-stabilization from sluffing.
A partial burial when a skier accidentally released a slide onto his partner below.
A snowmobiler who triggered a slide, was fully buried, and was rescued by his partners.
A size 3 skier triggered avalanche that ran to valley bottom, "snapping trees" as it went.

These are just the notables. There are numerous other human and natural triggered avalanches that make for several pages of data from the last couple of days. These events were largely in the Columbia Mountains but also include the Northwest and Purcells. If we go back a few days, pretty much all other regions have seen similar events. And these are just the ones I personally know about.

This is a classic scenario which, in the past, has often culminated in an unfortunate and serious accident.

The avalanches and incidents we are seeing have been on a variety of aspects and elevations. The details would require an extensive discussion but, in brief, the avalanches we have seen involve storm snow interfaces from the last snowfall and wind event as well as several crust, facet, and surface hoar layers which formed in late January/early February and then were subsequently buried between Feb 2 and Feb 8, depending on location. Since Feb 10^th or so a metre or more of new snow has further buried the early February layers.

It's an extremely tricky situation in the Cariboos, Purcells, Columbias, Northwest (North Coast and inland coast mtns), South Rockies, and to a growing extent, in the Kootenay-Boundary region. The South Coast appears better—maybe someone with local experience of what's going on there can comment. I suspect that areas with a warmer, wetter climate (e.g. coastal areas) will improve more (and more rapidly) than interior ranges. Again, some local commentary would be welcome. I suspect that this condition is just starting to develop in the main ranges of the Rockies where the February layers exist but are not yet as deeply buried so do not have the load or slabs that we are seeing elsewhere--perhaps less low elevation surface hoar there? any locals willing to comment?

I've been in the avalanche business for over 25 years and it's been a long time since I've seen a condition this complex and variable. In the last 24 hours, the words "low confidence", "spooky", "tricky", and "suspicious" have been used in relation to snow stability and avalanche hazard. It's seldom that people actually take the time to pick up the phone or write us an email about conditions, but there's an increasing number of calls and messages coming in to the CAC office; a very real indication of concerns and a desire to get the message out about the problems we are facing.

We are now entering a period where things are going to start looking better. Cool temps, reduced winds, and lack of new snow will cause a slowing of and perhaps will even stop significant natural activity. Human-triggering of avalanches will become more sporadic and difficult.

However, I urge everyone to remember the underlying condition still exists: storm snow instabilities in the alpine and wind affected areas will linger for a day or two yet. And the early February layers bring to mind the immortal words of Monty Python: "he's not dead—he's just sleeping." You most definitely do not want to tickle the deeply buried instabilities and have them wake up on a slope your are riding. There's now up to 120cm of snow available to avalanche on these layers and that snow is settling into a firmer slab layer that could well propagate much farther (making for larger, more destructive avalanches) than what we've seen in the slow, subtle, and steady buildup over the last 7-10 days. The size 3, skier triggered avalanche that ran to valley bottom yesterday is evidence of just this kind of condition.

The biggest problems we are dealing with are deeply buried, persistent weak layers. While the low elevation surface hoar is getting much of the attention, I think in some cases the February layers have not yet begun to perform to their maximum potential (facet layers in the alpine for example?). In some cases these persistent layers will almost certainly hang around for some time yet, napping for a while then waking up with new snow, wind, temperature changes, strong solar radiation, or if the right human trigger comes along at the right place and the right time.

I may be (and hope) I'm wrong, but am concerned we will see increasingly large avalanches on slopes that have been previously tracked up, on moderate angled slopes which have not yet avalanched in the most recent cycle, at low elevations on surface hoar layers, at higher elevations on old facets and crusts (even after current storm instabilities settle out), and in the trees where even a small slide can produce serious consequences if you get raked through the timber.

I think we are in a period where we all need to think very carefully about what we are doing and why we are doing it. Here's some things I think can help decrease risk—this is what I'll be doing when I head back out into the mountains next week:

Be very cautious in areas where you do not have good local knowledge about past use and avalanche history of a slope; you probably need to know what's happened since about Feb 2 anyway.
Choose safer terrain with options for travel on:

low angle slopes (less than 25 degrees),
in dense trees,
on smaller open slopes, and
away from terrain traps such as creeks, gullies, cliffs, and sudden transitions from steep to flat.

The best choice, if you insist on riding more aggressive terrain and do not have local knowledge, is to ride on slopes that have avalanched recently and are not yet reloaded with new or wind-blown snow (can you still see the fracture line?).

Up to about Feb 10 we experienced a great winter with generally very good stability. That has all changed and we need to change our thinking and our approach for the next while and perhaps for the rest of the winter if we are to come out of the season unscathed.

Post to/read the ACMG Mountain Conditions Report (http://www.acmg.ca/mcr/default.htm) and on the Canadian Avalanche Centre's public forums (http://www.avalanche.ca/Forums/), talk to your friends and others while out in the mountains, feel free to forward this to others, and go ahead if you want to post this in other public forums; we need to get the word out. Given the spate of incidents that doesn't seem to be slowing down, I'm worried that folks aren't getting the message or seeing the trend.

These are my personal thoughts and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of my employers or the professional organizations of which I am a member. Your comments and feedback are welcome. Feel free to email me: kklassen@avalanche.ca if you think I'm dead wrong, if you have information that is of use in helping others, or if you have data that supports these ideas.

Safe travels.

Karl Klassen

ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide

Public Avalanche Forecaster, Canadian Avalanche Centre

Revelstoke, BC

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

[MCR] Workers

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please contacct John Forest or me at 1-250-615-3184.
Al Ducros
Ski guide Ast Alpine guide.

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[MCR] Divide Creek, Feb19

Toured to 7200 feet in Divide Creek (Mt Niblock tour in Summits &
Icefields guidebook). 10 cm of new snow in the creek bed, everything
windhammered once you leave the lower creek and trees. Morraines look
and feel like something out of the Antarctic -wind scoured,
boilerplate surfaces, sastrugi, wind, wind, wind.

Happy trails

Sunday, February 18, 2007

[MCR] Observation peak glades

Toured to treeline at 8000 feet 2.5 km south of Observation Peak.
145cm snowpack, rutschblock 5 on 22 degree west aspect, resistent
planar 35cm down, same failure with easy-moderate compression tests.
-6 c at 12:30. Pegged the hazard at high in the alpine, considerable
at treeline and moderate below treeline.

[MCR] Northeast shoulder of Mt Burstall

Skied over the 7200 foot bench on the NE end of Mt Burstall
yesterday. Moderate-strong winds in the alpine with much scouring
going on, right down to the heather on the windward side (West).

Rated the hazard at considerable in the alpine, moderate at treeline,
and low below treeline.

Saturday, February 17, 2007

[MCR] Narao Glades

Excellent skiing today in the Narao glades. Of note the area has been
hammered by wind -- Yoho looks very different than it did when I was
there last on Tuesday. Although visibility wasn't that great we saw
evidence of recent avalanche activity from the past day or two through
he mist. We also heard control blasts coming from the west, so I guess
we weren't the only ones concerned about the hazard today.

Soft but very skiable windslabs (on top of a totally rotten, facetted
snowpack) in the trees, but things seem to be sticking OK for now -- of
course Narao "glades" are pretty tight trees, and the few open glades in
this area were scoured down to the the facets in most places so there
wasn't much left for concern.

But in the alpine it looks pretty serious -- the wind is howling strong
from the west and it sounds like it'll be getting worse.

I think I'll be hitting the resort with my little guy tomorrow!!

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.

Friday, February 16, 2007

[MCR] Rogers Pass

Hi.

Just back from Rogers Pass and thought I would re-iterate the message about the buried surface hoar in sheltered locations below tree line.

Yesterdays storm, instead of clearing things out, have buried the surface hoar under a 60cm to 70cm slab.

We kicked off numerous small slabs along the side of Connaught Creek 200m from the hotel and on both sides of the stream (North and South aspects). Some of these slabs were fracturing on slope angles of less than 30 degrees.

Compression tests were in the Easy range and a Rutschblock on a 35 degree slope failed whilst cutting it out (RB score 1).

This highly reactive layer is likely to be an issue for awhile.

Take care out there.

Cheers.

Steve Blagbrough.

BMG.

Upload 500 photos a month & blog with your Messenger buddies on Windows Live Spaces. Get yours now, FREE!

[MCR] Wicked Wanda

Climbed Wicked Wanda today. The drive in to the Ghost had lots of snow drifts but with a good vehicle and some reasonable driving skills it is fine.... After spending 40 minutes shoveling and getting my truck unstuck, I decided to leave it at the bottom of the big hill. From the Big hill to the Park boundary it is a 30 minute hike. The strong gusts kept the ice cold and dry. Actually the last pitch was very brittle and it appeared that it has seen no traffic for quite some time. I found it more challenging than Carlsberg which I climbed yesterday.

Regards,

Marco Delesalle
IFMGA Mountain Guide

[MCR] Rogers Pass - Bostock Creek

Hello,

Just spent the last few days ( Feb12-15 ) camping and skiing in Bostock Creek area with the Canadian New Zealand semester. We were seeing basically the same things as reported by Sylvia a few days ago. We also were able to skier control a size 1 avalanche about 30 meters wide and 60 meters long on the 2-3 cm surface hoar. This avalanche was on a north aspect at 1400 meters. We also were finding the surface hoar on the south aspects at lower elevations was about the same size as the north aspect. At higher elevations the surface hoar was much smaller however the crust on the south aspect was still giving easy to moderate results.

As of yesterday afternoon the snow above the surface hoar/crust was settling into a more cohesive slab. I would imagine given this and the new snow that is falling we will see larger propagations on this layer, which could easily be triggered by a skier.

Heads Up!

Jesse de Montigny

Assistant Ski Guide

Assistant Alpine Guide

Thursday, February 15, 2007

[MCR] Monashee Chalet Feb 10-14th

Monashee Chalet near Blue River had a well settled snowpack with an Hs
hovering at around 245cm. 10 cm fell during this 5 day week, but we had the
good fortune of working with 30cm of storm snow that fell the week previous.
We rated the avalanche danger as moderate BTL and at TL during the week. At
lower elevations ( below 5500ft), a thin temperature crust was present down
30 cm, and just below it down 40cm, there was surface hoar size 20-30mm.
This surface hoar is present across the province and was buried on Feb 4th
in many locations. We were only able to get moderate compression test
results on it most times we looked, but it was reactive to skier weight on
steep rolls in some boulder piles below 5500ft near Finn Creek. Our group
could trigger some of the small features off boulders down 40cm remotely on
a SE aspect. The only other areas of concern were sluffing of the surface
snow on steep shady areas at all aspects and elevations, and some mid day
destabilizing of the surface snow when the sun came out on Sunday the 11th.
We saw no evidence of avalanche activity on the Jan 22 surface hoar and you
have to dig down 130 to 150 to locate it.

Cheers,

Steve Ludwig ACMG Ski Guide

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

[MCR] Bow-Little Yoho traverse

Spent the last four days between Bow and Little Yoho.

ROUTE: We did the standard Yoho Traverse as described by Chic Scott with a
side trip yesterday circumnavigating Whaleback (over Isolated Col, back
via Whaleback's SE gully) with a detour onto the glades on Yoho Peak. This
is a worthwhile diversion with some excellent skiing.

WEATHER: cool with limited visibility and slow but steady snowfall
throughout our trip. Lows around -15, highs around -5.

SNOWPACK: This little corner of Yoho has been blessed with up to 60 cm (25
cm just in the last 24 hrs) of low density storm snow on top of the old
surfaces (those crusts we were beginning to really despise over the past
couple of weeks). The storm snow is bonding well to the old surfaces, and
sloughing even on steep terrain is pretty reasonable considering the sheer
volume and density of the storm snow.

The storm snow has come in slow but steady snow showers. Up until we left
today the winds were calm with the exception of some short gusts on
Saturday afternoon. No wind effect was noted anywhere during our trip.
Superb ski quality throughout our entire trip, especially yesterday and
today. As we left Field this afternoon there was a definite Yoho Blow
happening, but I'm not sure what this might be doing up high. Even short
periods of moderate winds will push a lot of that storm snow around
quickly.

COVERAGE: On the ice itself the snowpack is typically about 250 cm.
Wind-scoured areas such as near the Rhonda-Gordon col are showing bare ice
and exposed and thinly bridged crevasses. South facing aspects and exposed
areas (e.g. the steep slope getting onto Des Poilus and the moraines below
Des Poilus glacier) are also very thin and facetted (e.g. snowpack depths
of <75 cm).

Regards,
Tom Wolfe
AAG

[MCR] Blackcomb backcountry

Out for a tour today in the Blackcomb backcountry.
About 20-30 cm's of very light new snow on top of a
variety of surfaces. (mostly crust)
Excellent ski conditions on all aspects down to about
6500ft were you start to feel the buried crust.
Surprisingly no new avalanches were observed on any
aspects, even with heavy skier traffic from local
Helli skiers and aggressive skiing on our part. The
new snow does however sluff fast and far in the steeps
and could catch you off guard in the wrong place. As
we skied out the winds were picking up from the SW, so
conditions could change.

Also of note was the total disrespect for ski tours
from Whistler Heli. During the day they manage not
only to ski up all the easily toured runs in the
nearcountry (same as usual). They also manage to fly
less than 200m directly over us several times. Then
two groups skied right over us (one group 100m away).
And finally land within 200m of us and hit us with
rotor wash and snow as we skinned up a ridge.
This has happened in the past, however it seems to be
happening with more frequency. I talked to two people
tonight that had the same thing happen previously this
year. If you have had this happen recently please
contact me. Many Thanks. Craig McGee

Craig McGee, ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
102-4369 Main St. Suite #337
Whistler BC
Canada
V0N 1B4
cell 604 902 0296
Home 604 892 2259

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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] Banff area-Cascade and Rogan's

Chickened out of Cascade waterfall today with the cold temps(high -16c) and new snow. At the top of Rogan's there is probably 30cms of recent storm snow that has had no wind effect as of 1pm. I would assume that the wind is going to blow eventually and it is forecasted to warm up signifigantly in the next two days. I wouldn't be too suprised to hear that an avalanche big enough to spoil someone's day ran down Casacde some time in the next 3 days.

Larry Stanier

Mountain Guide

Monday, February 12, 2007

[MCR] Maligne Canyon - Jasper Park Feb 12

Did the canyon crawl through Maligne Canyon today (Jasper Park). It is in generally good shape, with easy travel. No hanging ice shelves or aid climbing required, just straight forward ice steps and easy walking. There are a few open or thinly iced over pools that require delicate traversing around. With the cold temperatures the ice is pretty brittle, and we heard and felt several loud disconcerting cracks in the ice as we traveled up the canyon.

Jordy Shepherd

Mountain Guide

[MCR] Rogers Pass Surface Hoar

Yesterday, wardens toured up Napoleon Spur searching for the distribution
of the February 4th surface hoar layer. We found surface hoar in the
snowpack down 25-30cm, and were able to trace it from the valley floor
(1100 meters) to our high point at 1850 meters. The surface hoar was
reactive at higher elevations, but resistant planar in character (CTM13,
RB6). It was far more reactive at lower elevations, and we were able to
ski cut several small sluffs, and a size 1 soft slab avalanche from a
convex roll that ran far and fast into a gully. This was at 1245 meter
elevation. The surface hoar here was 15mm in size, and very well
preserved.

Today, U of C researchers were on a similar mission, looking for the
surface hoar. They found it to be very reactive in the Bostock drainage,
and were able to ski cut a soft slab. They were at 1470 meters, on a NE
aspect, on a convex 30 degree roll. The slide failed on surface hoar down
35 cm, was 40 meters wide, and ran 150 meters long.

To summarize, the February 4 surface hoar is somewhat sporadic in
distribution, but it seems very prevalent in protected areas at and below
treeline, especially on north and east aspects. The snow on top of this
layer is starting to get firm enough to propagate as a slab, and is the
ideal depth to be triggered easily by skiers. The words "tip-toe" come to
mind for travel below treeline, especially in open glades or gullies.

Sylvia Forest
Mountain Guide
Glacier Park
_______________________________________________
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.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

[MCR] Flat Creek - West Glacier Park - February 6-9

I spent the last 4 days (Feb 6-9) with a group of Park Wardens in Flat Creek, on the west side of Glacier National Park, about 8 km south of the highway.

We enjoyed excellent snow quality and mild temperatures. Approximately 20 cm of new snow fell over the four day period.

The February 4th surface hoar layer is now buried about 30 cm, and has become reactive to skier triggering. Watch for this layer, especially if you are in the Monashees or Selkirks. With a forecast for additional snow load and wind over the next few days, this layer is likely to become more reactive, and with bigger consequences. Use extra caution in steep open areas at treeline and below. Avoid terrain traps like gullies or creek draws that can significantly increase burial depths if you are caught in a slide. If you are caught in an avalanche in a glade and are pushed into the trees below, or over a rock bluff, there is a high probability of trauma in addition to being buried.

There have been numerous recent observations of cracking, whumphing, and skier controlled avalanches. This is a sign of instability. Use extra caution if you do venture onto the slopes in the next few days. With the avalanche danger in the Selkirks and Monashees sitting at ‘Considerable’, this is a prime time for avalanche accidents. Check for updates to the avalanche bulletin in your region at: www.avalanche.ca

Jordy Shepherd

Mountain Guide

Friday, February 9, 2007

[MCR] Mnt McPherson - Revelstoke

Enjoyed a morning ski tour up the lower flanks of Mnt McPherson today. Although the ski quality was quite good, the Feb 4^th surface hoar/ facet layer was beginning to get a bit cranky. A sign of what appears to lie ahead…

As of noon today there was aprox 20cm (below tree line) and 25-30 cm (at tree line) of new snow overlying the Feb 4^th interface. Surface hoar is 8-12mm and is mixed with faceted grains. Only observed north and easterly aspects. Shovel and compression tests Very Easy.

But most importantly, ALL areas without tracks were settling, cracking and failing on this layer. Lower down it was simply shooting cracks and subtle whoomphs. But as we climbed higher and the amount of snow overlying this layer increased (25 cm), we began to see the first skier remote slabs. Mostly size 0.5 soft slabs, with two size 1.0. Triggering would occur from distances as far as 25 meters.

Today was mostly a fascinating example of the characteristics of buried surface hoar, with the hazard easily managed. (At least in the moderate terrain we were exploring). However, in more aggressive terrain, in a terrain trap, or as this layer receives additional snow fall, be aware! It’s a layer to watch and treat with respect. With the large crystal size it’s likely to stick around for a while and is also likely to live up to the tricky reputation that classic surface hoar layers have.

Play safe this weekend! J

Cheers,

Paul Norrie

ACMG Mountain Guide

[MCR] Wapta

Hello,

Just returned from a 6 day trip to the Wapta Icefields with the Canadian/ New Zealand semester. We spent time between the Bow and Balfour huts and were turned back by poor weather from the Balfour high col.

A few things we thought should be passed on:

- Feb 4-5 there were consistent strong winds from the SW. We observed 10-30cm windslabs on the normal route up to South Rhonda. Also, a size 2 natural avalanche on the NE aspect of Mt Olive slid to the ice sometime during the wind event.

- Warm temps (lows of -6) in the last few days seem to have tightened things up. Tests at a similar elevation and aspect to the Mt Olive slide yesterday gave easy sloughing of the new dust on top but other than that a Rutschblock 6 (2 times) with an uneven shear down about 60cm. I would still keep an eye out for windslabs on those lee aspects for the next few days.

- Average snow depths on the glaciers seams to be about 200cm

- Getting to the Balfour high col is guarded by its usual large crevasse under the icefall which looks like it forces the route very close to the icefall. We were turned back before this because of poor visibility but keep your heads up!

- Today the skiing above the Bow hut was good with 5-10cm of dust on soft crust.

Have fun!

Jesse de Montigny

Assistant Ski Guide

Assistant Alpine Guide

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

[MCR] this house of sky - Bourgeau left.

Was working today in the North Ghost.
This house of sky.
The route is a nice outing a step up from a walk with a pretty stout 30 feet
of ice in the upper bowl. A very nice outing and well worth the time.
considering the conditions, snow on the route and usable fix anchors, don't
bother with the walk off we it took less than one hour from the very top.

The road in was fine, some deep ruts by the first steel bridge but no big
deal they can be easily avoided to the right. Some freezing rain was comming
down as we drove back up^the hill about 15:00. If you go in to the NGoast,
ask some currently well establish yurt dwellers for coffee (GBU) location.

Bourgeau left, spoke to some friends (experienced ice climbers) who climbed
the route today, they did not have access to this forum. The route as Jessie
had described a while back and Mike did yesterday, is maybe not worth the
current lead, there is lots of good ice in other locations right now. Other
south facing routes will be suffering the same faith, top of Cascade got
baked in this last sun session and the end of mix master is now a wet "dry
tooling" passage in between the fixed pins on the last pitch. But a bridge
too far, for climbing in the sun, is awesome the walk is short, 45minutes,
and contrary to the guide book info it can clearly be scene from the road
while driving north.

Cheers.
P.Delaney

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[MCR] Icefields Parkway ice conditions (Feb 6)

We spent the past 3 days (Feb 4-6) ice guiding around Jasper and the Columbia Icefields. The following is a report on conditions encountered.

Road Conditions: Highway 93 North (Lake Louise to Jasper) is primarily packed snow and ice and is quite slippery, especially in the mornings before the day warms up and melts the roads a bit.

Weather: The weather has been very mild the past few days with afternoon highs above zero Celsius at Beauty Creek Hostel (~1550m). We received about 3cm of new snow (about 1cm per day).

Snow Conditions: Previous cold temps has left the area with a bottomless, facetted snowpack. If you step off the packed trail you stink right to the ground in unconsolidated sugar. Open areas near treeline have a stiff wind crust/slab. Daytime warming on Feb 5 was causing pinwheeling and small (size .5) point release avalanches on south aspects, below tree line.

Ice Conditions: The warm temperatures are providing very plastic/forgiving ice conditions on Shades of Beauty, Melt Out and Weeping Wall. We climbed Weeping Wall Right and Snivelling Gully today and both were perfect hero ice offering one-swing sticks and solid screws. Upper Weeping Wall / Weeping Pillar looks like it is starting to get a bit white from sun-leaching. The middle pitches on Snivelling Gully are thinning with the warm temps making it is easy to punch a leg through to the flowing water below. Curtain Call looks to be in hard shape with a skinny pillar and big roof on the last pitch.

Maligne Canyon ice: all routes, including the complete ‘original route’ are in great shape. Note that even when the canyon is formed up well, there is significant hazard when negotiating the ‘pools’ of water. Two days ago they were mostly covered with a suitable layer of ice but this could change rapidly. Falling through the ice is a very real possibility and not something ice climbers are used to dealing with.

Rob Owens (alpine guide)

Sean Isaac (assistant alpine guide)

[MCR] rope stuck on Polar Circus

A friend left a rope stuck on Polar Circus on Sunday. Return
appreciated with a bottle.

canuckclimbers@yahoo.ca

Barry Blanchard
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.

Monday, February 5, 2007

[MCR] Bourgeau Left Hand

Guided route yesterday with one guest. First pitch still similar to Jessie's description. A few more warm sunny days and its going to come down. Serious lead. The rest of the route is in fine shape with soft ice and good gear. A good idea to check existing pitons on fixed anchors as some needed to be reset. Again sun was very strong - I wouldn't want to be on it in the afternoon. Use caution in picking a line down the descent once done with the raps as the snow was changing rapidly.

Cheers

Mike Stuart
Assistant Alpine Guide
E: m_stuart@telus.net

Sunday, February 4, 2007

[MCR] Rogers Pass

I've been in Rogers Pass the past 4 days. No snow for 11 days and good stability meant there were
tracks everywhere, both up and down. However, today it snowed (5 cm at the Pass and 7 cm at
Fidelity) and things are changing, so here are a few observations on what to expect in the next
little while.

The big issue are the surfaces that got buried today. There is a lot of variability in this regard and as
such forecasting instability will be complex for the next while. North and west aspects had
windcrust, steep solar aspects (SE through S through SW) had suncrust, protected east facing
slopes at all elevations and shaded below treeline terrain had decomposing and faceted grains on
the surface. On top of these surfaces, on virtually every slope, there was surface hoar. The size of
these crystals varied, at 2000m and below in sheltered areas it was huge, 20 mm or more. It was
sluffing downhill in rivulets like water. On other slopes it was smaller, but still will be very much a
concern. With any sort of load this February 4 surface hoar layer will be very reactive and
avalanches will occur on it.

Heads up once we get more than a few cms over the next few days!

Mark Klassen
Mountain Guide

[MCR] Polar Circus

Climbed the route with one guest yesterday (Saturday). Busy place with four other parties. Similar conditions to Barry's report with a fair amount of ice, snow and rock coming down the climber's left side of the upper route once the sun found it. Temperatures in the sun felt more

like April than February. Snow balling under the crampons was an issue on the descent. I have never seen the route in easier shape. Felt Grade 4.

Thanks again to the kind folks that let us play through.

Cheers

Mike Stuart
Assistant Alpine Guide
E: m_stuart@telus.net

Saturday, February 3, 2007

[MCR] Malignant Mushroom

Climbed the route yesterday with one guest. Found it to be in difficult shape for the bottom half and a tad harder than its guidebook

grade - mostly due to cleaning. A line was obvious from the ground but up close it revealed new, unconsolidated snow/ice crystals through the lower portion, after which the gear became quite solid for the rest of the route. The right hand side was dripping hard and building new features - Wicked Wanda style!

The road into the South ghost was good travelling but the North looked quite drifted in spots.

Cheers

Mike Stuart
Assistant Alpine Guide
E: m_stuart@telus.net

[MCR] A Bridge too far

Guiding up there today,
Had never been up this one, a good route if your looking to cover lots of
ground.
The approach is short right now about one hour to the base. The snow is hard
and makes for good walking. Comming out is even faster!

First pitch is good at 4+ nice features to step on and not much signs of
heavy travel.
We made are way to the very top of all the ice, a long process with some
deep snow near the end, we chose our line while weaving our rope around few
trees avoiding the deep snow and a few large steep slab pockets. Above the
route not much snow in the boll a few signs of some old slab avalanches that
did not appear to have gone very far. Overall the slabs were bonding quite
well to the snow pack bellow.

Nice to be in the sun on this one, once on the climb temps stayed around -5
all day.

Getting off was quite fast, raps and walking.
Sean's mixed climbs on the right side of the first pitch look quite fun
right now offering a three foot ice roof at the top of the rock. Check out
the guide book for more details.

Cheers

Patrick Delaney

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Friday, February 2, 2007

[MCR] various front range ice conditions (Feb 2)

The following are conditions from the past 3 days of ice guiding in the front range.

Jan 31 - Grotto Canyon: Grotto Falls was very wet turning the rope into a cable for the rest of the day. Hers is funky with a small roof at half-height then the final awkward detached bulge to get to the chains. His has a big roof near with minimal opportunity for good ice screws to protect it; essentially soloing. Despite guidebook grading (both WI4, actually Hers is called WI3-4), both these routes usually feel quite a bit harder even though they are short. Neither are recommended for a fledging WI4 leader.

Feb 1 - Weathering Heights, The Ghost: An unforecasted 10cm of new snow fell over night but thankfully no new drifting on the drive in due to the lack of wind. However, today's (Feb 2) wind probably has made new drifts so be sure to throw a shovel in the trunk. It was a cold day with max temp of -15 C. The hike into Planters Valley was a stumble-fest with the new snow coating the boulders. The route has seen tons of traffic thus providing solid hooks and steps. The steep pillar-like crux on the first pitch is very hollow and fragile sounding but well picked out so be delicate and hook. Lots of in-situ V-threads of varying quality so inspect them well and back them up before committing full trust. Anorexia Nervousa is looking on its last legs: The 1st pitch smear is very thin and the pillar on the last pitch is cracked right through.

Feb 2 - Moonlight Falls, Evan Thomas Creek: The first pitch is very hooked out. The crux pillar presents two options. A well-travelled skinny pillar on the right or the not-so-well-travelled main pillar on the left. We opted for the left variation because it sported thicker albeit fresh ice. This and the last step to the trees have reformed over the hooks and is very brittle (lots of dinner plating and cracking) with the cold temps (max of -10 C today). There is a nice equalized 3 V-thread rappel anchor on the ledge but it is exposed to a mess of free-hanging icicles pouring over the lip of the roof above. We rappelled from it but I wouldn't belay there since it would lengthen your time under them. We belayed on the far left side of the big ledge away from the hazard. Another party was on Snowline which looks in good shape and also super hooky.

Sean Isaac

Assistant Alpine Guide

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