[MCR] Jimmy Simpson/Crowfoot Glacier

Toured up towards Jimmy Simpson today and turned back just before
committing to the final slope before the col. Skied down to the valley
bottom and continued up and onto Crowfoot Glacier before deciding to
call it quits for the day.

Weather: started calm with broken skies, deteriorating early in the day.
>>From about 10:00 am onwards skies were overcast and wind was blowing
strong from the west. Major redistribution of the recent storm snow,
which I am guessing was around 20 cm but for the most part is now either
in Saskatchewan or in big pillows on lee slopes and cross-loaded
gullies. Temps were mild throughout the day (-6 to -1 C). Once again the
weather forecast, which called for light SW winds, was wrong... although
I've been used to getting better weather than forecast over the past few
weeks!

Snowpack: 75-100 cm at treeline and facetted/bottomless in sheltered
areas with 10-20 cm of slabbing storm snow on top. Windward slopes (e.g.
Crowfoot moraines) are either bare or rock hard. Lee slopes were loading
quickly as we retreated, and highly reactive to ski cutting (several
results in the 0.5 size), and I "accidentally" triggered a sz 0.5 (8-10
cm deep, 10 m wide, ran 15 m -- as I deaked out of the main gully and
back onto the "bench" on the way down). Crowfoot moraines/glacier, as
one might expect (it's NW facing), is totally scoured. Travel was mainly
good, skiing quality ranged from good (not much) to fair (hard windslab,
facets).

Hazards: Cornices are a big hazard right now -- the ones overhanging the
south side (climber's right) of the Crowfoot moraines/glacier drainage
were growing rapidly and one collapsed sometime today bringing down a
few refrigerator-sized rocks with it.

Regards,
Tom Wolfe
AG
_______________________________________________
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] Commonwealth Creek area

Skied around Commonwealth ck. today with a couple of dozen other people. Not exactly a wilderness experience.

 

The north facing chutes above Tiyst Lake are skied out and almost mogulled. We skied the gentle terrain on the south facing avalanche path west of "Super slope" and had decent shallow powder skiing that was suprisingly non sun affected. We then skied the Commonwealth loop from the west to east and had good skiing after the 1st slope below the col.

 

Temperatures rose during the day from -8c at 930am at the road to -1c at 2pm at treeline. Clouds rolled in around 1200 so I would assume the sun affect was minimal on all but the steep SE faces. Winds were probably 50-70kms SW at the ridges all day.

 

The snowpack was pleasantly strong everywhere we travelled and the snow surface has been beaten up enough by the wind, sun and warm air that at present it isn't a concern as a future weak layer. The avalanche danger did not increase signifigantly during the day as the forecasted "hot" weather did not arrive. 

 

The biggest hazard seemed to be other people as a couple of pretty ugly places had ski tracks in them.

 

Larry Stanier

Mountain Guide