ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains isued August 9th, 2007
The heat wave is over for now but two days of stormy weather has not drastically changed the conditions in the alpine. For the majority of the storm, precipitation fell as rain as high as 3350 m's. Snow was observed down to 2800m's at OHara this morning but is melting fast. An educated guess would be that approximately 10-15cms of snow is stuck to the old ice and snow above 3000m's in the Lake Louise group and the Columbia Icefields.. Probably much less stuck to the rocks due to the warm temperatures. I think it would be safe to assume that as of today there was only enough snow and wind to create some very scattered, small slab and loose snow avalanches in the short term on ice faces along the divide of the Rockies.
Observations from the Columbia Mountains at Rogers Pass and the Bugaboos today talked about no new snow visible through the breaks in the clouds but everything is still very wet for now.
What little old snow that remains is remarkably strong. Glacier travel conditions have been generally excellent. For example, at the height of the rain showers yesterday, I still had decent travel conditions on the Odaray glacier. As of tuesday there was still snow to the North side of the Bugaboo glacier below Snowpatch where you descend to the moraine above the Kain hut. The Bugaboo/ Snowpatch col is still reported to be passable on snow beside the big crevasse with some ice and rocks showing at the bottom of the slope. The downside of this hard snow was demonstrated when someone fell while descending the Bugaboo/Snowpatch col. Crampons and good footwork are REALLY important for any sloping snow travel until things change.
There has been LOTS of rockfall observed in the alpine during the summer heat wave. There is no question that the melting back of ice faces and glaciers has exposed some heavily fractured rock that has been held in place by the ice for years. These fractured areas have not had sufficient time to "settle" and big rockfalls are now a fact of life during the intense melt periods. A helmet is a great thing but should probably just be considered a fashion accessory when several rocks the size of modern TV sets are rocketing down the slope.
Rivers remain fairly high and fast in places such as the Illecillewaet and the Sunwapta.
The weather forecasts are pointing to a fine weekend. The alpine should dry out fairly quickly when the sun comes out but the High North faces will be probably be snotty for awhile as will some low angle ridges like Victoria. Expect some wet rock in places and I hope you are pleasantly suprised.
Bon Cours,
Larry Stanier
Mountain Guide