ACMG Mountain Conditions Report Archive

MCR Summary- Rockies
May 30, 2008

The May 24th weekend saw a significant storm in the upslope areas of the
Rockies. Canmore received upwards of 50 mm of rain at valley bottom
elevations and a good dump of storm snow above 2000 m. Precipitation
amounts dissipated rapidly the closer you got to the Continental Divide.
The storm amounted to rain and snow showers in the Columbia Icefields with
only five to ten cm of snow accumulation at upper elevations.

Warm daytime temperatures over the last couple of days have resulted in
afternoon loose snow avalanches and some slab avalanches in the recent
storm snow.

Currently in the Rockies very little snow remains at the below treeline
level, but in the alpine a higher then average snow pack remains for this
time of year. Reports from the Columbia Icefields state generally good
travel conditions in the morning, with the surface snow becoming slushy at
lower elevations in the afternoon. There is an unsupportive melt freeze
crust at higher elevations that makes travel a bit frustrating for those of
you on foot.

In the alpine along the Continental Divide spring time avalanche conditions
exist. As long as we are continuing to get the warm sunny days and the
cooler nights the avalanche hazard can range from low in the morning, to
high in the afternoon when the snow pack begins to warm up. The persistent
weak basal layers that have dominated this winters snow pack create the
potential for full depth slab avalanches when things really warm up. This
is evident from all the deep fracture lines that still can be seen from the
warm weather earlier in the month. Pay particular attention to being on or
under big alpine slopes during the heat of the afternoon.

In Banff and the east slopes of the Rockies conditions for rock climbing
are excellent with even the north facing crags beginning to dry out.

The forecast is calling for possible afternoon thundershowers for the
weekend, so keep your eyes open for the building cumulus clouds.

Brian Webster
ACMG/IFMGA

_______________________________________________
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.

I climbed Wasootch Tower via N Ridge today. Dry and in excellent
condition. Well, as excellent as the N ridge gets which is not very.

It was retrofitted a few years ago with some bolts but is still a little
serious in spots, II 5.6ish, 275m, starts at the highest point of trees on
the N (or if you want to be technical NNE) ridge which at 8 am these days
is the obvious light/shadow line from the parking lot. Bring a modest
rack, a couple of pitons, and an appetite for Rockies rubble.

There are two rappel lines:

- one is about 7 m north of the summit cairn by
a shrub (two bolts on the ground). Ignore the manky piton station and
continue to two ring bolts in a gully (rap 1 - 25m, rap 2 - 25 m)

- the other is down about 20 m south of the summit on a ledge. (rap 1 - 10
m, rap 2 - 25 m)

Regards,
Tom Wolfe
ASG/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.

Here's a couple more places to view photos of recent avalanches on the
coast:

http://homepage.mac.com/cliffiag/Photos/PhotoAlbum67.html

http://informalex.org/spring2008coastavi

Thanks to Doug, Lee, Tom, et al who have posted photos and let me know where
they are.

kk

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

_______________________________________________
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.

To follow up my previous message, here's a link to some photos from the recent avalanche cycle on the coast:

http://telemarktalk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=37594&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=465

Thanks to those who sent me suggestions for where to find these.

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

This is second and third hand info but worth passing on.

There have been a number of very large slides in the south coast mountains. Avalanches up to size 4 with 3 metre crowns are being reported failing on the December 5th interface. These occurred last weekend in the Whistler area both within the ski area boundary where heavy skier compaction occurred for the whole winter, as well as outside the boundary in areas with less skier use. This cycle was triggered by rapid warming (the first significant warmup of the spring) where 30 degree temps were observed at valley bottom.

This may be an indication of what is happening/has happened in other areas or what may happen elsewhere during significant warming events, especially if it's the first major warmup in a your area.

You will recall that the Dec 5th layer was widespread so just because you are far from the south coast region is no reason to believe you are immune to this kind of event.

Photos are circulating (they are impressive) but they came to me via a third party so I do not feel I can attach them. Apparently the photos have been posted on YouTube or Facebook or MySpace? but I don't frequent those sites so don't know where or how to find them. Perhaps someone who is more social network savvy than me can find them and let people know where to look.

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

Climbed Boundary Peak today, Sunday May 25. This peak is the 9400 ft outlier on Athabasca's NE ridge accessed by the looker's left lobe of the North Glacier.

The deluge that hit Banff/Canmore this week dissipates rapidly as you go west and north but it was still cloudy and drizzly. Just a few cms of new snow at upper elevations in the Icefields area. The lower part of the glacier up the steep tongue had only about 20 cm of snow over the ice. Higher up boot top foot penetration on the glacier, with HS deeper than my ski pole. On the snow covered rocky slopes leading to the ridge foot pen was deeper than that but the snowpack was only about 1 meter deep there.

Everywhere the entire snowpack was wet and weak and it seemed like it would only take a bit of warming to cause the bottom to fall out of it and if it did you would be breaststroking to get anywhere. I was hip deep on the descent a few times.

Lots of smaller loose snow avalanches with a few small slabs here and there. That didn't mean that I trusted stability very much.

Mark Klassen

Mountain Guide

The great melt out has begun from the high peaks and there has been a
widespread avalanche cycle triggered by both the high temperatures of last
weekend and the recent rainfall. The cycle has been reported from all areas
in the Columbias and Rocky Mountains. Numerous large avalanches have run
from all aspects in the alpine and at treeline, many of them deep slabs
that have pulled out to ground or down to early season crusts near the
bottom of the snowpack. Many of these slides have run nearly to the valley
bottom and buried some of the hiking trails. Most trails above 2000 metres
are still snow covered in the main ranges and foot penetration is to ground
off of the packed trails.

The snowpack is isothermal or nearly so at most elevations and the forecast
is calling for monsoon like rains through Saturday, at least for the areas
east of the Columbia Trench, so Alpine climbing will not be in the cards
for the weekend.

The lower elevation south facing crags are drying out and reports are of
good conditions on Yamnuska and EEOR with still some snow on the descents.
If it dries out on Sunday, these might offer some good climbing. The back
of Lake Louise is mostly dry and overhanging areas might also be OK.

Watch out for high stream levels as lower elevation streams and creeks are
running high and can be expected to go higher with another 30mm of
precipitation in the forecast.

With a cool upper trough anchored over Alberta for the next few days, drier
conditions will be found west so a trip to Skaha might be in order.

The freezing level for snow has been hovering around 2200-2500 metres, so
you can expect new snow if you are still planning a ski trip to the
Icefields. Travel may be alright at upper elevations, but keep in mind the
potential for long runouts from steep slopes as the avalanche danger from
isothermal slabs will still persist. Bring your white out navigation
equipment and some dice for the hut and hope for some sunny breaks on
Sunday.

Brad White
ACMG/IFMGA

_______________________________________________
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.

Still a lot of snow in the Selkirks, and recent fresh snow from the past two
days of poor weather. Skiing would be spring-like but probably acceptable at
the higher elevations. Getting out of the valley bottoms would be an effort,
and would require some skis off hiking.

The west facing routes on Mt. Macdonald and Tupper are starting to bare off,
and should be climbable within a couple weeks if the weather warms up.

Avalanches are still a very real concern, especially if the temeratures climb
into the teens in the alpine. There are very recent and very large avalanches
down in the paths facing the highway in Glacier Park, some running to near
valley bottom. If you do head out into the mountains, remember that you need
to get back home early to avoid the afternoon avalanche cycle.

The rock climbing in Revelstoke is fabulous, when it's not raining.

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.

We were doing some flight training in the LL area yesterday. There has been extensive avalanche activity everywhere. The Plain of Six trail is snow covered beyond the end of the lake. There are a number of deposits across the trail including a very large one that obliterates the trail where it crosses the quartzite ledges (cable handrails). This one may not melt out before July. One avalanche running down from Popes/Unamed gully ran down to within 200 meters of the Teahouse area. The crevasses in the Death Trap are well filled but the big schrund is starting to open. There is still significant potential for climax spring avalanches on these trails and any trails at similar elevations. On Monday, many routes at the Back of the Lake were dry but there was still snow at the base of most of the routes.

Marc Ledwidge

MG

Grassi Canyon

Upper Grassi Canyon is still closed, although there have been rumors and web posting to the contrary, the status has not changed since last fall.

The uppermost section of the Grassi Lakes Trail — specifically from the top of Spray hill to just north of the pictographs — remains closed due to potential rock fall. The main hiking trails from the Day Use Area to the Grassi Lakes remain open. As well, this closure does not affect access to the lakes for hiking or climbing on the lower rock routes. The closure extends from the upper dam down to just above the climbing formation known as the Golf Course.

The following areas are closed to climbing and hiking: The Ghetto, The Rectory, Swamp Buttress, White Imperialist, and Hermit Wall.

The following areas can be accessed from the lower Grassi Parking area: Graceland, Meathooks, Gardeners Wall, and Golf Course.

Until an unambiguous evaluation of the hazard can be made or the hazard is removed or stabilized, the upper canyon will remain closed.

There has been a problem with people taking down signs and yellow tape. Please respect the signs and the closure. Parks will charge people if they go into the closed area or remove signs.

User groups are continuing to work on a solution to this problem.

Chris Miller

ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide

Today we went and had a look at some routes at the East End of Rundle. First we tried Eric Dumerac's route Generosity just right of the Guides' Route but the 3rd pitch turned out to be a gushing waterfall. Also EEOR's Tail is wet top to bottom. Reprobate looked ok but we ended up doing a combination of pitches on the True Grit pillar - all of which was entirely dry and so is Raptor. On the other side of White Man's Gap, there is still snow on the approach to Ha Ling and the East Face is still looking wet in spots, namely the final dihedral.

Surprisingly nobody out there climbing today on EEOR - nice weather / long weekend and all........different story in the parking lot at Canmore's Sobeys afterwards....

Cheers,

Jorg Wilz

Mountain Guide (ACMG / IFMGA)

1-800 506-7177 or (001) 403 678 2717

www.ontopmountaineering.com

Up the South Ridge yesterday. Most of the ascent was snow free with the odd section towards the top that you easily skirt around. Some large cornices dripping and sagging along the summit ridge (again easy to avoid).

The descent gully was knee to waist deep (in spots) snow until 2100 metres where it dried up. Easy walking down however there is still enough snow in there to get yourself into trouble on the wrong day (hot and direct sun). The clouds rolled in about halfway through our ascent and things cooled a bit otherwise I was going to descend back down the ridge to avoid the snow.

Have fun!

Cheers

Mike Stuart
Alpine Guide

Just back from a great ski traverse from the Chaba Glacier out to the Columbia Icefields, climbing Mt. Columbia and Snowdome along the way!

There is still lots of snow, even at lower elevations, compared to other years I have done this tour. Up on the main Icefields crevasses remain well bridged with little or no sagging and good coverage.

Above 2600m a good supportive crust continued to form overnight due to the clear skies, however this broke down quickly with the surface 10-20cm of snow becoming moist by mid-day. Below 2600m the snowpack quickly became isothermal with minimal surface crust recovery and lots of avalanche activity once the sun came up. We made sure to be off any avalanche terrain by mid-morning due to the rapid heating of the last few days.

The East Ridge of Columbia was in excellent shape early yesterday morning. Boot crampons and an ice axe were needed for the ascent on firm snow. The final crevasse, 40m below the summit is thinly bridged but easily crossed. We were back down by 0930.

Snowdome was good traveling early this morning and the Athabasca Glacier exit was good corn skiing by 0830 as we descended. Crevasses were well filled in on the route down and travel was quick.

Enjoy the late season ski touring!

Cheers, Conrad Janzen
Mountain Guide with the Alpine Club of Canada

A person should have wings to carry them where their dreams go, but sometimes a pair of skis makes a good substitute. -Hans Gmoser-

This weeekend marks the arrival of the first high spring temperatures.
Driving south from Bell II this morning, I observed numerous recent size
3 wet slabs in the Nass and Kispiox Ranges, particularly on east and
south aspects. Only a few of those went to ground as the cold
temperatures of the last few weeks have not allowed the whole snowpack
to warm up. In many cases, the trigger was a loose avalanche or cornice
fall that triggered massive slabs further down the slope. I observed
several fracture lines that were more than 300 m wide. A lot of hangfire
is remaining above those fracture lines and with continuing warm
temperatures I expect a lot more activity higher up and in more
northerly aspects.

North of Meziadin Lake, temperatures have remained cool. The maximum air
temperature was plus 3 at 1500 m in Sulphurets Creek yesterday. As long
as it stays cool, conditions are a lot more stable north of about the
56th parallel.

I recommend staying away from any exposed terrain this weekend, or to
travel extremely early and be off exposed terrain before 10 am.

--
Christoph Dietzfelbinger
IFMGA/ UIAGM Mountain Guide - Bear Mountaineering and the 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.

ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued May 15th, 2008.

The May long weekend is coming with blue skies and warm temperatures in the forecast. Sounds like a great weekend to be in the mountain but---

Today was the first REALLY hot day of spring. Last weeks storm snow and the whole winter snowpack are being deeply stressed by the daytime heat and solar radiation. In Canmore alone a BIG, DEEP size 3 avalanche ran today around 10:30 am in the Miners Couloir. The fracture line was around 150m wide and well over 1m deep. It ran WAY down into the snowfree ground below treeline. Several other large size 2 avalanches were visible from town. A report from Lake Louise mentioned several avalanches were triggered by explosives above the Moraine Lake road. These paths were fairly dry and they had already slid so no debris reached the road. One very large slab avalanche was observed below the East face of Mt. Babel. In the alpine and at treeline conditions are likely to get worse for awhile with a forecast of at least two more days of hot, sunny weather.

In the Columbia mountains you should assume a similar avalanche cycle is under way. The Canadian Avalanche Association and Glacier National Park each issued special avalanche advisories today. Glacier Park's report mentions a few large avalanches. Most worrisome to me was the fact that they had not had a decent overnight strengthening of the snow for several days. This is of concern for the snow stability but also for the strength of crevasse bridges.

So backcountry travel is not recommended. If you are really on the ball and IF we you get a solid overnight freeze, it may be reasonable to get up desperately early and travel safely on the snow for a few hours. If you are thinking of traveling anywhere in the big mountains this weekend be very conscious of the daytime heat. Friday and Saturday in particular have the potential for large destructive avalanches to reach the valley floor in snowy places like the Asulkan Valley and the Plain of Six Glaciers trail.

On the East Slope of the Rockies, crags are drying out very nicely and it seems a great weekend to get out rockclimbing. Many scrambling peaks are still snowy so be conscious of avalanches and rockfall in this terrain.

The good news is that this heat and avalanche cycle will definitely help destroy some of the persistent weak layers in the snowpack. We may have some fine spring skiing and alpine climbing coming eventually, but you have to survive this weekend to enjoy that.

Good Luck and please don't shoot the messenger.

Larry Stanier

Mountain Guide

Yes, I have still been skiing.

After getting weathered out of the icefields we put in a few days skiing lines around Bow Lake. The crusts, believe it or not, are still not fully there. On solar aspects they vary in quality from being pretty decent to punchy to "we better get out of here" depending on the terrain, the day and the time of day. Everywhere the crusts were not that thick and deteriorated quickly with warming. Travel in the trees was barely OK, often breakable even first thing in the morning but still doable. The place to be is in the alpine and if you go to the right place at the right time there is some pretty good skiing to be had.

There still seems to be enough snow at Lake Louise (the actual lake), so objectives in that area might be OK. We didn't travel on upper elevation norths but they look good (still wintry?). The Wapta had good visibility yesterday.

Looking at the forecast sky conditions and temps there could be a couple of days with favourable diurnal swings this week. But I would say pick a short objective, get up really early and be back at Laggan's for brunch. Or you could go golfing.

Summer wax goes on today.

Mark Klassen

Mountain Guide

Skied up Snow Dome via the Athabasca Glacier yesterday (May 9) and descended today. There was little evidence of the storm that affected the Bow Valley, in fact snowfall amounts were significantly less west of Castle Junction than in Banff or Canmore.

The Athabasca Glacier has very good coverage this year, little evidence of crevasses on the ramps between the icefalls, it seems more filled in there than I remember and certainly better coverage than the last time I passed that way in April 2005. Remember though, there are huge crevasses in this area with a history of several crevasse fall incidents to prove it.

We went up the climber's right side of the first icefall, then cut around to the left of the second icefall before gaining the normal ramp through the third icefall. This route avoids the dangerous Snow Dome seracs although there is still some hazard from the Andromeda icefalls but these are not as active. Going left of the first icefall works too.

Complete white out on the icefield this morning, some wind but little precip.

Mark Klassen

Mountain Guide

Back in from the Manatee group at the head of Manatee Creek. Warm temps
combined with cold clear nights brought on a cornicopia fest! Natural
activity up to Sz 2 on solar aspects with steep direct solar going
isothermal by 10am at 2000m and below. The pack is holding at over 3.5
meters in alpine areas and bridges are staying strong on the Norths
giving straightforward access to the high cols and peaks. The snow
bridge on the shrund protecting the col immediately to the East of the
Wahoo tower has mostly collapsed though barring easy access though
forcing you to go around making for a long day. With the cold temps
overnight, travel was fast and straightforward with boot and ski
crampons a must on steep terrain.

Classic spring ski touring!

Cliff Umpleby

_______________________________________________
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.

ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued May 8th, 2008.

An upslope snowstorm rolled into the East Slope of the Rockies today. Heavy snows reported from the Kananaskis, the David Thompson Country and as far north as the Maligne Lake road in Jasper. At 2 pm today, National Park wardens in both Lake Louise and at Sunwapta (south of Jasper) said that snowfall was just beginning under very low cloud ceilings and the temperatures were just above freezing. Yuck!

There is probably enough snow that a short term avalanche hazard exists on previously dry East Slope scrambling peaks like Yamnuska. My concern would be hikers triggering small avalanches on loaded slopes and in steep gullies that could have enough mass to knock them off their feet and drag them over the rocks. It is also likely that there will be a nasty bit of rockfall and some small wet avalanches if it clears up and gets warm as forecasted tomorrow and saturday.

Across the snow belts of the East slope and certainly in the Kananaskis high country, this storm snow will very likely have fallen on a weak, isothermal snowpack below treeline. In the daytime heat this weekend it would probably be very wise to avoid skiing avalanche terrain at and below treeline on the East Slope, unless we get a suprisingly good freeze one night. At treeline and in the alpine, be very conscious of the potential for natural and skier triggered slab avalanches, partially as a result of the new snow load. The new snow is also going to camouflage lots of rocks and stumps, especially below treeline.

In the Columbia Mountains and along the divide of the Rockies there has been less recent precipitation. However, as we said last week, in the alpine and high treeline areas there is still a winter snowpack. Isolated large slab avalanches releasing on persistent weak layers from the winter are still being observed at Rogers Pass and in the Rockies. Large wet avalanches are also going to continue to be a concern on southerly slopes and faces for some time yet.

Daytime heating is big part of almost all potential avalanche and rockfall problems right now so make sure your trip plans involve being well out of harms way relatively early in the day. Also, make sure you are getting a real freeze to start your trip. Rain anytime, or a warm grey night and a hot,sunny morning quickly changes everything. If you are thinking of backcountry skiing in the Columbia mtns, check out the last regular avalanche bulletin of the season from Glacier park, issued yesterday.

Classic spring ski mountaineering could be just round the corner IF we ever get a real ridge of high pressure rolling in. In the mean time, you can expect a mixture of slush, crusts, powder, windslab, fresh snow, isothermal snow and bare ground. Over the next week, I would also assume that the avalanche hazard will be wildly variable. It will be potentially variable throughout the course of the day, and certainly will vary across the ranges, across the terrain and especially at different elevations and on different aspects. Patience is a virtue and all that kinda stuff.

With this amount of snow, front range multi-pitch rock routes may need at least a day or two to dry out and the crags at least a couple of warm sunny hours.

Sunny and forecasted highs of 75 Fahrenheit for the next five days in Yosemite. I have to include some good news!

Larry Stanier

Mountain Guide

Note to all who have Jasper National Park frequencies on your radios, JNP
simplex and repeater frequencies have been switched to narrowband.

Pls adjust your radio settings to reflect this change.

FYI.

Garth Lemke
Public Safety Warden
ACMG Assistant Ski Guide

Garde de parc, Sécurité publique
Guide de ski auxiliaire, Association des guides de montagne canadiens

Jasper National Park of Canada | Parc national du Canada Jasper
Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
P.O. Box 10, Jasper AB T0E 1E0 | C.P. 10, Jasper (Alberta) T0E 1E0
Garth.Lemke@pc.gc.ca
Telephone | Téléphone 780-852-6158
Facsimile | Télécopieur 780-852-6138
Cellular Phone | Téléphone cellulaire 780-852-8811
Government of Canada | Gouvernement du Canada
www.pc.gc.ca/jasper

Think GREEN! Please don't print this email unless you really need to.
Soyez ÉCOLO! N'imprimez ce courriel que si vous devez vraiment le faire.

_______________________________________________
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.

Overcast skies on Friday left us with some good skiing from the previous storm with hard planar shears on the old temp crust down about 35cm. An additional 8cm of new snow fell Friday night and bonded well under warm temps which made for great skiing right from ridge tops for the first half of Saturday. In the pm, skies cleared for the first time in several days resulting in a short cycle of wet snow avalanches on steep solar aspects and horrible sloppy skiing down the Macbeth glacier. A 4cm temperature crust froze up Sat. night which supported well but quickly broke down again on Sunday with more clear skies. Generally fast travel conditions with 0-5cm ski pen, although the wet snow was slow going on the low angle t! errain when the skins came off. A fresh glide wax job would have made a big difference – especially at lower elevations. Crevasses were still very well bridged with 350+cm probed on the glaciers. Some sizable cornices loom over the north aspects of Mt. Benvolio and the Overlord – Refuse traverse. Give these a wide margin, especially as temps increase. The ski out to Whistler is endless skis on-again-off-again as you cross all the plowed, muddy roads. Good thing these were interspersed by some nice cream cheese skiing! on the piste. Watch for bears on the way out – although the one we saw didn't seem too interested in us.

Shaun King

Alpine Guide/Asst. Ski Guide

On May 3rd we went up the Athabasca glacier to the top of the ramp and set up camp. High 2 low -6. Height of snow on the lower glacier varied between 165 and 210cm. At 2800 the snowpack was over 385cm. In the P.M. moist snow on all aspects up to 2500M. Late spring up there and the glacier was still in good shape with good bridges and no sags. Traversing under the seracs seemed a dangerous option. as they are shedding regularly. A group had placed wands on the Athabasca gl. and all the way up the ramp towards Snowdome. Along the flats before the ramp these were close to the slopes below the serac's. I watched them get raked twice by serac fall. We took a line of approach as close as we dared to the obvious open slots on climbers left. Though this area is noted for more crevaces, it is 50 meters or more away and though there was debris there also it gave one greater margin of safety. Along this route we encountered no crevace problems and were able to quickly gain the large bench below the ramp where one can go well left. 10 minutes below seracs though we were hauling a sled (client training for Denali), probably 6 minutes for ski tourers. Still this route seems dangerous. I had a good look at the far climbers left option below Andromeda and I think this is a better choice to gain the ramp for the future. Although closer inspection is needed, it seems like the glacier has changed enough that it would go. To note is that there is an excellent crevace rescue location at the toe of the Athabasca on climbers right side. The site is easily accessed with a short hike from the summer road, has no hazards other than itself, is about 40 meters wide and 10-15 meters high. It can be seen from the parking lot.
Get out there,
Eric Dumerac
Ski guide/Assistant Alpine Guide

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On May 3rd we went up the Athabasca glacier to the top of the ramp and set up camp. High 2 low -6. Height of snow on the lower glacier varied between 165 and 210cm. At 2800 the snowpack was over 385cm. In the P.M. moist snow on all aspects up to 2500M. Late spring up there and the glacier was still in good shape with good bridges and no sags. Traversing under the seracs seemed a dangerous option. as they are shedding regularly. A group had placed wands on the Athabasca gl. and all the way up the ramp towards Snowdome. Along the flats before the ramp these were close to the slopes below the serac's. I watched them get raked twice by serac fall. We took a line of approach as close as we dared to the obvious open slots on climbers left. Though this area is noted for more crevaces, it is 50 meters or more away and though there was debris there also it gave one greater margin of safety. Along this route we encountered no crevace problems and were able to quickly gain the large bench below the ramp where one can go well left. 10 minutes below seracs though we were hauling a sled (client training for Denali), probably 6 minutes for ski tourers. Still this route seems dangerous. I had a good look at the far climbers left option below Andromeda and I think this is a better choice to gain the ramp for the future. Although closer inspection is needed, it seems like the glacier has changed enough that it would go. To note is that there is an excellent crevace rescue location at the toe of the Athabasca on climbers right side. The site is easily accessed with a short hike from the summer road, has no hazards other than itself, is about 40 meters wide and 10-15 meters high. It can be seen from the parking lot.
Get out there,
Eric Dumerac
Ski guide/Assistant Alpine Guide

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Just back from a really fun week of ski touring and climbing on the Mons and Lyell Icefields in the Rockies!

We had cool temperatures and 40-60cm of new snow in the alpine during the middle of the week (good boot top powder skiing!!), followed by two days of blue skies and warmer temps. This has resulted in well settled spring conditions below 2600m and on most solar aspects. Higher terrain and N aspects still had unconsolidated storm snow as of yesterday and we were careful to avoid wind loaded areas in these locations.

We saw quite a number of cornice failures at the end of the storm, some of which were pulling out slabs in the recent storm snow yesterday. We also had the usual solar triggered sluffs and slides expected with daytime warming. Early starts were important to take advantage of the good travel and low hazard in the morning.

Coverage on the glaciers was good with over 320cm in all areas with the exception of wind affected spots on steep rolls and at ridge tops.

Good travel, good spring skiing, and lots of great tours and peaks to climb and ski in the area!

Cheers, Conrad Janzen

Mountain Guide with the Alpine Club of Canada

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ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued May 1st, 2008.

This is the first Mountain Conditions Summary for 2008. Last week, the Canadian Avalanche Centre issued its last regular avalanche bulletin for the season, though they could still produce a special bulletin in the event of unusual conditions. The Mountain National Parks are still producing excellent avalanche bulletins, please reference them if you are planning on skiing or climbing in those areas. Please be aware, this summary is being produced at a time when there are relatively few Mountain Guides active in the mountains and many operations concerned with avalanche hazard management are shutting down for the season. We will do the best we can to provide a clear picture of what we know is happening in the mountains, but spring is always a period of dynamic change in the snow and we have very few eyes on the ground to observe with in the next few weeks.

I can't imagine it is a suprise to anyone to hear me say that winter still rules in the mountains.

There is still over 100cms of settled snow on the ground at Bow Summit and at the Rogers Pass. The long days, more intense radiation and supposedly warmer temperatures of spring are only slowly starting to effect the snowpack in most places. From all reports from the Rockies and the Columbias I get the impression that we are still a long way away from what I would consider a "normal"spring snowpack. Below treeline the snow has probably gone through enough melt freeze cycles to have gained some strength when it is cold. However, at treeline and in the alpine, even south faces have probably not lost their deep weak layers. Especially on north facing terrain and in the alpine, any daytime warming is being added to a still wintery snowpack with some signifigant, persistent weak layers. I suspect there is still lots of potential for LARGE slab avalanches in the foreseeable future, especially if we ever get some HOT, HIGH RADIATION spring weather.

Alpine climbing is probably possible if you have a spell of settled weather and some cold temperatures. Be VERY choosy if you are looking for alpine climbing in the near future and don't be caught anywhere in avalanche terrain when things start to warm up. Again, the snow is almost more like March than May right now. The problem with this "March" snowpack is that it has the potential for producing big, nasty avalanches when the springtime heat is added to it. LOTS of full-size cornices still hanging around the ridges and a winters worth of freshly frost shattered rock to be clobbered with. Hmm, doesn't all that sound appealling?

Rockclimbing in the region still seems to be limited to valley bottom east slope crags such as the Canmore area, Spillimacheen and Begbie. South facing cliffs like Yamnuska are drying off in a day or two after each snowfall, but there is still lots of snow on the north faces and in gullies.

Skiis and quickdraws seem to be the most appropriate tools for recreation right now, but there is still some melting ice around for the desperate.

Good luck and be patient. It has to get nice eventually, doesn't it?

Larry Stanier

Mountain Guide

Got back yesterday from an attempt on the McBride Traverse.

Started at Diamond Head on April 25 and made it to the ridge above Drop Pass by midday April 27, when the monsoon came in. Dug in and waited it out til the morning of April 29. Strong winds, lots of storm snow, no change in the barometer (which had dropped 17 millibars) and a poor weather forecast necessitated a retreat back to Garibaldi Lake on April 29. Skied out April 30.

Storm snow amounts were highly variable due to the strong south winds, from 0-100 cm depending on aspect and elevation. 50-60 cm in sheltered areas. Our route back was mostly on the windward side of the range so the storm snow was generally wind pressed or soft sastrugi with little signs of slabbing. The storm started very warm and ended fairly cold and things seemed to bonding well to the previous surfaces, which were temperature/sun crusts nearly everywhere. We didn't observe cracking or whumpfing or any avalanche activity, but visibility was quite poor the day we retreated. In the Garibaldi Lake area with better visibility little recent activity was observed. I suspect some wind slabs in lee areas and tender cornices, and a wet avalanche cycle will surely occur when the sun comes out.

Mark Klassen

Mountain Guide

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