[MCR] Revelstoke Area Snow Conditions June 28

Out for a short rescue flight this evening, flying from Revelstoke west to the Boulder Mountain / Turbo Hill area.  Snowline is between 1800 and 1900 meters.  Still some snowmobile traffic on Boulder Mountain which was the reason for the rescue flight.  Soft snow at 1900 meters, but quite supportive. 

 

Warm, 24 degrees at 1900 meters at 9 pm.  Creeks are running at flood levels and would make for interesting and dangerous crossings.

 

Jordy Shepherd

Mountain Guide

[MCR] MCR Summary - Rockies and Columbia Mountains. June 26, 2008

MCR Summary - Rockies and Columbia Mountains

June 26, 2008

 

Finally some summer weather has taken hold of the mountains for more than just a day!  A strong ridge of high pressure anchored over southern BC and Alberta for this weekend will mean clear skies, and valley bottom temperatures in the upper 20's and low 30's.  This means a major period of change in store for the mountains this weekend!

 

The limited reports from alpine areas all continue to note the abundant snowpack remaining at higher elevations.  With the onset of a major warm spell this weekend, the mountains will be shedding another major layer of skin!  Expect avalanches and rockfall in many locations.  Avoid climbing in gullies, keep clear of all cornice features, and be suspect of any big snow slope greater than 30 degrees.

 

For those planning glacier travel, prepare for post holing as the snow is unlikely to freeze with overnight lows of 16 degrees.  At the higher elevations, crevasses remain mostly well covered but are starting to become visible lower down, in shallow areas and near glacier toes.  Keep your eyes peeled, and use a probe to search.  Warm snow is weak snow and falling through could be easy this weekend.

 

Best advice - hold onto your horses in the alpine and stick to the rock.  Let the mountains shed.  Mt. Louis is in good shape, as are most rock routes on the eastern slopes.  Alpine rock climbs like Castle Mountain are good, but expect snow on the descents and in shaded areas.  No reports in from the Bugaboos - but expect good climbing (S and W aspects) but poor travelling on the glaciers.

 

In summary - a fantastic weekend lies ahead. Clear and hot.  Avoid alpine snow as it won't freeze, and spend your time on the rock - preferably with nothing hanging over your head.  Summer is here, and this heat is a key ingredient towards better alpine conditions in the weeks ahead!

 

Grant Statham

Mountain Guide

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[MCR] Perren Route

 

Was up on the Perren Route yesterday with the intention of staying at the Neil Colgan Hut.

Hottest day in the alpine I have seen so far this summer.  22 degrees @12pm @2100m .  Also, first day the winds were calm.

Turned around a the end of the rock traverse after the chain linked pitch.  The entire ledge after the traverse is covered in 2m of snow and although it would be possible to gain the glacier by climbing the snow, it was moist and weakening by the minute.  

We reversed the route and avoided the big snow slope below the chain pitch.  There is still enough snow to cause large avalanches which have the potential to cover the lower parts of the route.  I would avoid the route unless there is a good freeze and you are on it early in the day.

Big avalanches on all aspects running throughout the day off the ten peaks and Mt. Temple.

Lilla Molnar
Ski Guide, Assistant Alpine Guide
------ End of Forwarded Message

[MCR] Castle - Brewers Buttress

Was up the route yesterday and a nasty North wind kept things quite cool all day. 

 

The route is dry except for the snow cone at the base and the right hand variation on the last pitch.  Snow starts in patches just past the hut and we used/needed ice axes to cross hard snow slopes to get to the base of the route.

 

The descent is a bit "rugged" right now with the snow starting pretty much at the top of the route and ending just above where you branch off to the hut on the approach trail.  It was boot top to waist deep for the summit ridge and the descent gulley had an unforgiving breakable crust from the top until the first rappel station.

 

Cheers

 

Mike Stuart
Alpine Guide

[MCR] ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary issued June 19th, 2008

ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued June 19th, 2008.

 

It is finally starting to feel like early summer in the mountains. Observations from the alpine have been limited, due both to the difficulty of getting through the treeline snow and the recent extended monsoon season. Below treeline along the divide we are perhaps a little ahead of schedule for snowmelt for this time of year. In the alpine it looks like late may. The alpine snowpack has, however, now gone through several weeks with periods of melting, freezing and settling. I am slowly becoming confident that the winters persistent week layers are becoming less of a concern, at least up to 3000m. It is impossible to say at this point what may be happening on high north facing terrain on peaks like Robson, Clemenceau and Sir Sanford. Big spring avalanches are still a possibility/probability anywhere in the alpine if and when we get some really hot weather. As I recall, we have only seen one REALLY warm spell in the alpine and that was a while ago.  

 

Glacier travel and snow and ice face conditions are all about the melt freeze cycle for the next while. The snow is simply not strong enough in most places to be counted on for good traveling without a cold clear night  Big ridge routes like Mt. Victoria, Edith Cavell and Sir Donald are very white and would be serious undertakings between the cornices, moats between the snow and rock and the avalanche danger late in the day on the descents. Yesterday, on a ridge at 2500m at O'Hara I had to shovel away approx 150cms of wet snow to find an anchor that was visible at this time last year. There are white looking ice smears all over the alpine but none that I have seen look very attractive. My guess is that most of them are the consistency of something between a stiff slushy and shaving cream. Expect a nasty couple of weeks of sun triggered wet avalanches and rockfall still to come in the alpine whenever the heat is on. Consider leaving those ice tools locked in your cupboard and get out rock climbing on a dry place in the sun. Alpine rock routes like Mt. Louis and Castle are drying out but expect some postholing on flat ground and in gullies above 2300m.  

 

Rivers and creeks are still high. I can't help feeling that one of the biggest hazards right now is falling through all that wet snow into a running creek, crevasse or a moat somewhere. Walk carefully and don't trust the snow for a while yet.

 

Larry Stanier

Mountain Guide 

[MCR] Ghost - Phantom Wall - Bonanza

Pretty high water levels at the Ghost River today convinced us to park our SUV at the bottom of the big hill rather than trying to plow through the "rapids". Others with full scale 4 wheel drive trucks were more courageous and managed to drive to the Devil's Gap parking spot. We walked and waded with water to a bit above our kness on both arms of the Ghost River.

 

Bonanza was dry for all but two meters - always a great climb although a lot of dirt got spilled down the route with the last couple of week's monsoon.

 

Unfortunately, a bit of an eyesore now are the remnants of recent extensive logging east of the the Ghost River......

 

Cheers,

Jorg Wilz 

 

Mountain Guide (ACMG / VDBS / IFMGA)

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

www.ontopmountaineering.com

 

[MCR] Addition to Mt. Louis

Climbed the Gmoser route today...

 

As Marc mentioned the route is mostly dry with just a few patches of snow in the gullies above where the Gmoser route joins the Kain route, but all of it is avoidable.  Perren crack is totally dry but has snow at the base which is also easy to get around.

 

The descent has quite a bit of snow with hard ice in some spots - namely where you have to climb back up (after the 5th 30m rappel).  The rock on the lookers right needed to be climbed to get up to the notch and the next anchor.  All of the anchors are clearly visible.

 

We dropped into the big snow gulley to the lookers right of the normal descent trail and had a quick and easy return to the base.  An ice axe would be advisible here.

 

Have fun!

 

Cheers

 

Mike Stuart
Alpine Guide

[MCR] Mt. Louis

Had a quick look at Mt. Louis this evening.  Kain and Gmoser route are mostly dry although a few of the ledges on the East Face have some snow patches.  Homage to the Spider is wet.  Rappel route has some snow in the gullies halfway down.  Descent down to the Gargoyle valley is drying up but the deep gullies are full of snow.  Gargoyle valley still has snow.

 

Marc Ledwidge

MG

[MCR] Icefields

Spent the last 5 days at the Icefields..

 

Generally unsettled weather over the period with one good freeze (-7 in the campground @ 0415 Saturday the 14th).  The rest of the time the freeze wasn't very strong, -2 to -3 at best.  

 

Coverage on the North Glacier leading to the Boundary/Athabasca col was over a metre anywhere I probed.  We had boot top foot penetration all the way up the glacier.  Cornices in the area are quite large and the bigger features (like the Silverhorn) looked like they had seen quite a bit of wind.

 

Everything depends on the strength of the freeze and a very early start these days...hopefully summer will start soon!

 

Play safe

 

Cheers

 

Mike Stuart
Alpine Guide

[MCR] Lake O'Hara conditions

I just spent two cool, breezy days at O'Hara.

 

Signifigant snow starts around 2300m in the trees and in shaded gullies. It is VERY snowy above that elevation. The big snow slopes on peaks such as Lefroy, Glacier, Huber and Hungabee are as deeply white as I have ever seen them. Suprisingly little signs of recent avalanche activity, except on steep SE faces.

 

If we start getting some cold clear nights, conditions could be excellent for some fast, early morning snow climbing. Grassi Ridge is dry but the descent involves negotiating some big, deep drifts.

 

I believe the buses start running on thursday.

 

Larry Stanier

Mountain Guide

[MCR] Howsons 15 Jun 08

In the northern Coast Mountains, spring is late in coming. Even the low
glacial termini are still covered in snow, and above 1800 m hardly any
crevasses are showing. There are about 15 to 20 cm of recent snow above
that elevation. The alpine faces are still quite snowy and when it gets
hot, there is much wet avalanche activity. In late May, numerous large
slabs released deep, usually triggered by cornice falls. That seems to
have stopped, but this is probably due to cool temperatures and the
instability remains. Travel conditions are good on firm snow.

--
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.

[MCR] Yamnuska - Diretissima

Busy day at the Parking lot at Yamnuska - not too bad on the climbing routes. Diretissima was totally dry and from the looks of it, most other routes should be too, except those which end with deep and shady chimneys (Grillmayer or Calgary Route for example) might need a few sunny days more. Only a few snow patches left on the North Side and according to the scramblers coming up the normal route, the trail is entirely snow free again.

 

Happy Trails,

Jorg Wilz

 

Mountain Guide (ACMG / VDBS / IFMGA)

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

www.ontopmountaineering.com

 

[MCR] Mountain Conditions Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mts. June 12, 2008

The cold upper low that has been the predominate weather feature for the
last week has finally moved off to the east and we can expect a return to
more normal temperatures with a chance of afternoon showers through the
weekend.

Up to 30 cm of fresh snow fell in the mountains above 2000 metres this week
and the upper elevations of all the peaks looked pretty white when the sun
finally came out today. Snowfall amounts were greatest east of the
continental divide and all of the front range mountains will still take a
day or two to dry out. Perhaps by Sunday with a couple of days of warm
temperatures the south facing crags like Yamnuska will not be running with
water.

The peaks in the Main Ranges around Lake Louise showed quite a lot of
surface snowballing today but no deep slabs have been observed lately. As
things warm up and the melt begins again at the upper elevations the
potential for large deep slab avalanches will once again become a factor.
It is pretty wintery above 2500 metres and reports from before the latest
snowfall indicated a mix of breakable crusts and deep foot penetration.

There have been no reports from the Columbia Icefields with the poor
weather, but you could expect fresh snow depths to be slightly less there
with the weather pattern we have had. If you are thinking of anything
alpine for the weekend, a ridge route with no exposure to steep avalanche
prone faces would be your best bet. Beware that the crevasses will be
covered with fresh snow and bridges will be tough to spot. Watch out for
the cornices that are still huge and be prepared for some difficult travel.

Reports from the Columbia Mts are scarce, but the snow line at Roger's Pass
was reported to be just above the highway. Conditions in the interior are
not much different yet with the majority of the winter snowpack lingering
at the upper elevations.

The lower elevation sport climbing areas will once again be the best bet
for pleasant weekend climbing.

Brad White
ACMG Mtn Guide, 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.

[MCR] ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued June 5, 2008

The past week has seen cool and unsettled temperatures throughout the
Rockies and Columbia Mountains with a couple of small precipitation events
that brought showers and a little fresh snow above 2700m. In the high
alpine along the continental divide there is still a lot of winter snow,
especially on shaded aspects, bowls and gullies. At treeline, even east of
the divide, bowls, gullies and avalanche paths may still have enough snow
piled in to make for unpleasant or even dangerous travel when it is warm.
At lower elevations, on exposed ridges, and in the minor ranges things are
trying their best to dry out.

There has been little in the way of overnight freezes over the past two
weeks and the snowpack remains isothermal well into the alpine with only
thin crust developing overnight at best. Travel remains poor up into the
high alpine at all times of the day.

Alpine hazards right now centre around this wet, weak winter snowpack:
- slab avalanches are still possible on shaded alpine aspects
- crevasse bridges are difficult to detect and have very little strength
- rock fall from alpine faces and gullies will occur
- snow bridges across creeks and rivers are collapsing.
- and of course the "little" hazards, like horrendous trail breaking
through waist deep snow and twisting an ankle between boulders.

Reports of alpine travel have been very limited, and for good reason. The
spring transition, especially with the weather we've had, makes it very
challenging to have a safe and successful alpine adventure. A few guides
have been choosing conservative objectives with options that minimise or
avoid exposure to avalanche slopes and gullies for both approaches and
descents. Routes that stay below 2700m and/or stick to ridges are the best
bet right now.

Despite the weather, over the past week and with good timing and route
selection cragging in places like EEOR and Yamnuska has been possible. The
5-day forecast is looking worse, not better; the best bets seem to be
front range rock climbs and scrambles with minimal commitment and no
overhead hazard.

Regards,
Tom Wolfe
AAG/ASG
_______________________________________________
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.