Eric Dumerac- IFMGA/ACMG Mountain Guide
www.msacourses.com
1-877-309-7673
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Sunday, January 31, 2010
[MCR] Crowfoot glades
Crowfoot Glades is still holding some good snow. 120cm snowpack, no new avalanches, -4 temps, no wind and 3-4cm of new snow today. One note is that we got easy results with resistant planar shears from compression tests on the December 29 surface hoar in shallow wind affected areas where the snow pack was ranging from 80-60cm's.
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[MCR] Rogers Pass conditions January 24-30
This is an MCR Summary put together by the students of the Assistant Ski Guide Training in Rogers Pass from Jan. 24th - 30th, 2010.
Little Sifton Traverse - Skied up via Teddy Bear Trees and across to upper Grizzly shoulder at approx 1800m. 250cm (HS) Height of Snow in the alpine below Little Sifton. Dug a pit just below the summit down 150cm's. Found no evidence of the burried Surface Hoar layers. (HST) 15cm's of Storm Snow overlaid a well settled midpack with no other significant weaknesses in the snowpack. Cornice formed on the NW side of the Little Sifton Col seemed a bit bigger on approach than it actually was, only overhanging the slope by a meter or so, with easy access to the slope below coming in on climbers right. Moraine down to Puff Daddy Left, had good ski quality on more shaded aspects, but found some sun crust formation on Southerly solar aspects. Ski quality at Treeline and below is not great, this exit is getting a lot of traffic/abuse, and the old ski tracks are starting to harden up.
Tupper Traverse - We chose to skin up climbers left of the main drainage, left of the normal ascent to the Hermit alpine. From the ridge down onto the Tupper Glacier we found 300cm (HS) Height of snow at 2525m. Still some visible sags in the crevasses at the base of the steep north face of Tupper above. Good ski quality down through the Cascade Creek slide path, with the exception of a small temperature crust forming on the solar/skiers left side of the path. We were able to skier trigger small slabs about 20cm deep on the gully walls below 1300m near the highway on what appeared to be a buried rain crust.
Young’s Peak - Lots of downflow winds produced a variable depth hard slab above the toe of the Illecillewaet Glacier. We found variable snow-depth (50cm-300+cm) on the glacier with many visible sagging snow bridges over crevasses . On the ridge itself, cornice hazard formed on the East side of the ridge is a real concern and both our groups gave this thing a lot of space. From the top of Young’s Peak, the first pitch of the seven steps has a semi filled in crown on skiers right, and bare glacial ice below on the bed surface from two slides that pulled out earlier this season. Variable skiing down to the hut.
Lilly - Dome Col - Asulkan - Lot's of (SH) surface hoar up to 20mm observed on surface near valley bottom. There is over 200cm of snow in most places in this valley and lots of avalanche activity from the cycle two weeks ago. Still lots of blue ice showing through on the glaciers but still had consistent good coverage. Easy boot pack up to the Dome Col. Visible sags on big convexity of the main Dome Glacier run.
Bruins Pass - 8812 - Skinned up Bruins ridge, found shallow and faceted snow on the SW side of ridge. Skied down north glacier on back side of Bruins and skinned up to 8812 col. Glacier had 300 cm of well settled snow and crevasses covered. Jan 25 surface hoar was down 5cm, well preserved. Surface hoar was found on the surface all the way up to near the top of 8812 and 5mm in size. We turned around 30m from the summit when we found very easy shears down 20cm on the Jan 25th surface hoar with soft slab above. Skied out on easy side of Bruins ridge found sluffs running fast and far on Jan 25th surface hoar.
Perley Rock - heavily tracked. lots of old avalanche debris falline below Perley. visible glide crack on breakover mid slope.
General Observations - Our observations as the week went on definitely built confidence in the snowpack through all elevation ranges. The Dec. 29th (SH) layer still seems to be found in the 1800m - 2100m elevation range at (TL) treeline down ~ 100cm in non-wind affected areas. This was most prevalent on North and North-East aspects but we did find exceptions to that throughout the week through all elevations. Most pit results on this layer were in the hard range but when we saw failure, easy shears were almost always sudden and planar. We tried to stay clear of any features that held a shallow snowpacks and would have potential for a skiers load to trigger a release on this layer. There was still good skiing to be found in Alpine areas protected from the wind as well as the trees on shady aspects. The hard part is finding areas that haven’t been too heavily skied yet.
--
Marc Piché
ACMG Mountain Guide
Little Sifton Traverse - Skied up via Teddy Bear Trees and across to upper Grizzly shoulder at approx 1800m. 250cm (HS) Height of Snow in the alpine below Little Sifton. Dug a pit just below the summit down 150cm's. Found no evidence of the burried Surface Hoar layers. (HST) 15cm's of Storm Snow overlaid a well settled midpack with no other significant weaknesses in the snowpack. Cornice formed on the NW side of the Little Sifton Col seemed a bit bigger on approach than it actually was, only overhanging the slope by a meter or so, with easy access to the slope below coming in on climbers right. Moraine down to Puff Daddy Left, had good ski quality on more shaded aspects, but found some sun crust formation on Southerly solar aspects. Ski quality at Treeline and below is not great, this exit is getting a lot of traffic/abuse, and the old ski tracks are starting to harden up.
Tupper Traverse - We chose to skin up climbers left of the main drainage, left of the normal ascent to the Hermit alpine. From the ridge down onto the Tupper Glacier we found 300cm (HS) Height of snow at 2525m. Still some visible sags in the crevasses at the base of the steep north face of Tupper above. Good ski quality down through the Cascade Creek slide path, with the exception of a small temperature crust forming on the solar/skiers left side of the path. We were able to skier trigger small slabs about 20cm deep on the gully walls below 1300m near the highway on what appeared to be a buried rain crust.
Young’s Peak - Lots of downflow winds produced a variable depth hard slab above the toe of the Illecillewaet Glacier. We found variable snow-depth (50cm-300+cm) on the glacier with many visible sagging snow bridges over crevasses . On the ridge itself, cornice hazard formed on the East side of the ridge is a real concern and both our groups gave this thing a lot of space. From the top of Young’s Peak, the first pitch of the seven steps has a semi filled in crown on skiers right, and bare glacial ice below on the bed surface from two slides that pulled out earlier this season. Variable skiing down to the hut.
Lilly - Dome Col - Asulkan - Lot's of (SH) surface hoar up to 20mm observed on surface near valley bottom. There is over 200cm of snow in most places in this valley and lots of avalanche activity from the cycle two weeks ago. Still lots of blue ice showing through on the glaciers but still had consistent good coverage. Easy boot pack up to the Dome Col. Visible sags on big convexity of the main Dome Glacier run.
Bruins Pass - 8812 - Skinned up Bruins ridge, found shallow and faceted snow on the SW side of ridge. Skied down north glacier on back side of Bruins and skinned up to 8812 col. Glacier had 300 cm of well settled snow and crevasses covered. Jan 25 surface hoar was down 5cm, well preserved. Surface hoar was found on the surface all the way up to near the top of 8812 and 5mm in size. We turned around 30m from the summit when we found very easy shears down 20cm on the Jan 25th surface hoar with soft slab above. Skied out on easy side of Bruins ridge found sluffs running fast and far on Jan 25th surface hoar.
Perley Rock - heavily tracked. lots of old avalanche debris falline below Perley. visible glide crack on breakover mid slope.
General Observations - Our observations as the week went on definitely built confidence in the snowpack through all elevation ranges. The Dec. 29th (SH) layer still seems to be found in the 1800m - 2100m elevation range at (TL) treeline down ~ 100cm in non-wind affected areas. This was most prevalent on North and North-East aspects but we did find exceptions to that throughout the week through all elevations. Most pit results on this layer were in the hard range but when we saw failure, easy shears were almost always sudden and planar. We tried to stay clear of any features that held a shallow snowpacks and would have potential for a skiers load to trigger a release on this layer. There was still good skiing to be found in Alpine areas protected from the wind as well as the trees on shady aspects. The hard part is finding areas that haven’t been too heavily skied yet.
--
Marc Piché
ACMG Mountain Guide
Saturday, January 30, 2010
[MCR] Polar Circus cornice failures
A huge cornice failure on Polar Circus on Thursday added a little
excitement to our day, and we thought we should give a heads up.
There was a report yesterday of another failure in the same place
that was heard but unwitnessed.
excitement to our day, and we thought we should give a heads up.
There was a report yesterday of another failure in the same place
that was heard but unwitnessed.
On Thursday, temps got up to -3.0 in the shade, skies mostly cloudy.
Overall, ice was plentiful and soft, mostly dry. At ~11:30, the sun
had just briefly come on to the uppermost sections of the face and we
had just traversed the big bench in the middle (just above where the
pencil tops out) and were racking up at the base of the headwall when
a summit cornice well to climber's right of the last pitch broke off.
(Yesterday's collapse also occurred at about the same time.) The
sonic boom when it released allowed us just enough time to look up
and witness armageddon carom off the face and come straight towards
us. We just made it under a rock alcove before most of the bench was
strafed with large blocks of ice and rock, including the base of and
first pitch of the headwall. Multiple 3-5m wide impact craters
resulted along the bench.
That said, right now there are still numerous remaining cornices
threatening the upper tier, although none of these are visible from
the threatened area. These were likely formed during reverse loading
conditions by the early winter arctic outflow systems, and are still
extensive along the ridge above the climb. Currently, the sun does
directly hit those to the left of the climb late in the morning, and
the headwall pitches may be exposed to these. Something to watch out
for.
Carl Johnston, RG
Nicholas Rapaich, 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.
[MCR] Left hand Weeping Wall
Climbed the route today. Mix of soft, wet ice and sun baked junk. Good screw placements required a bit of digging around in the bad ice.
Its a good idea to pick your line on this side of the wall from the road as the bench beneath the last pitch has melted away exposing the cliff and large amounts of running water. You cannot see this from the base.
Expect more melting/icefall than normal on sunny days. Icefields Parkway was very slippery in spots, with 2 cars in the ditch on the way home this afternoon.
Have fun!
Mike Stuart
Alpine Guide
Alpine Guide
[MCR] Nemesis, Jan 30th
Guided Nemesis today, Jan 30th. The route is in good shape, blue and green ice with screws wherever you want them. We used snow shoes for the approach, you need either those, or skis. A good packed trail right up to the climb. A great day.
Happy trails,
Barry Blanchard
UIAGM/IFMGA Mountain Guide
1 403 609 4615
cell 1 403 609 1321
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
[MCR] Bourgeau Right Hand
Climbed this morning, -22 in the parking lot a bit before 7.
The route is catching full sun by 915.
Numerous thin spots (less than 5cm thick) on first and second pitch - not sure how much longer it will stick around.?
Used short (10cm) screws and screamers. As mentioned earlier this year the route is in dire need of anchor upgrades.
In the last week or so the sun's power has increased dramatically. Seems prudent to have earlier starts on routes that are in the sun (or have terrain above/below them which is in the sun). We were happy to be back at the truck before 11.
Have fun!
Mike Stuart
Alpine Guide
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
[MCR] Bow Summit
Skied at Bow summit yesterday. No new avalanches, no results from tests- did get surface sloughing while ski cutting in 40+ degree ski terrain. Wind effect in open areas with some rock hard slab in places but sheltered slopes hold good snow. Most of the area has been skied out.
Happy Turns,
Happy Turns,
Eric Dumerac- IFMGA/ACMG Mountain Guide
skiXperts.com 1-877-309-7673
[MCR] Bourgeau left station & conditions
Guided Brougeau left today and put the bolt into the hole I had previously drilled for the second station- so no need for anyone to do it. First 2 pitch's were quite brittle with the upper tier awesome plastic ice but dripping in the center-traverse right on this pitch as soon as you can to remain dry. I would recommended to climb it early as it probably really starts spraying as the day gets warmer and with sun.
Eric Dumerac- IFMGA/ACMG Mountain Guide
WWW.iceXperts.ca 1-877-309-7673
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[MCR] Wapta Banff Park 0126
Beautiful blue bird day, light west winds, -15 to -8.
Skied lines on the W Face of Mt Olive and the NE aspect on St Nicholas.
We found great skiing on 20-30cm low density snow over a very firm wind hammered 120 -150cm snow pack over glacier ice.
We did not see the Jan 25 surface hoar in the alpine but we did find it down 5-10cm at tree line and below.
No new avalanche activity.
Cheers
Mark Stewart
IFMGA/ACMG
[MCR] Oh Le Tabernac
We were the first of two parties on Oh Le Tabernac today, Jan 26. The climb hadn't seen much traffic, if any, before today. Chandeliery ice for 25 meters, finding good screws a challenge. That section should be easier now with the passage of 5 climbers. The top 25 meters from the bolted anchors on the right side of the route was good, solid, steep ice. A curtain of ice right of the route sheared off when the sun swung around in the morning. We were careful not to belay, or hang out, under any hangers.
We walked up to Whoa Whoa Capitaine and Le Miserables but were too late in the day with too much sun and ice pieces falling from the sides. Bum slid down, rappeled, and walked away.
Happy trails,
Barry Blanchard
UIAGM/IFMGA Mountain Guide
1 403 609 4615
cell 1 403 609 1321
Monday, January 25, 2010
[MCR] Johnston Canyon
Climbed in Johnston Canyon today, Jan 25. There are no pillars touching down in the middle section, looks like there was one at one time but it is all lying in the creek bottom now. Climbing on the right hand section is good. Climbing on the left hand section, close to the BIG waterfall, is also good. We climbed a couple of interesting lines there, 4+/5. You can walk off via the tourist trail and not get your ropes wet in the BIG pool.
Happy trails
Barry Blanchard
UIAGM/IFMGA Mountain Guide
1 403 609 4615
cell 1 403 609 1321
[MCR] Southern Selkirks: Valkyr range
Just finishing off a week in the Valkyr Range south of Nakusp.
We ski tested some small steep slopes at treeline but haven't seen any avalanches all week (human triggered or natural).
Primary concerns are old hard wind slabs in the alpine and to a lesser extent at treeline; and two persistent surface hoar layers in the top 40-60 cm of the snowpack. Both the windslabs and surface hoar layers are showing "pop" characteristics with compression and rutschblock tests but haven't been reactive to our skis. No whumpfs or cracking noted this week at all.
We just buried another surface hoar layer yesterday but it is only down a cm so there are no concerns there yet.
Still good skiing in sheltered areas.
Mark Klassen
Mountain Guide
www.alpinism.com
Sunday, January 24, 2010
[MCR] Rogan's Gully
Guided Rogan's Gully today, Jan 24th. From the first bolted anchor the route traverses right towards a tree. Above said tree the ice is narrow and has been chunked away until it is now about as big as my thigh. Some delicacy -tapping tools in rather than swinging, and careful stepping, may keep the ice in there for a while longer. When this piece of ice is gone it'll mean bypassing on the rock -not as much fun.
We climbed the right hand variation at the top, then rapped down and climbed the left variation too. On the left variation we climbed up 30 meters then gained the rock rib on climber's right with trees for runners, then onto the top of the right hand variation. Fun mixed climbing at a very moderate level -M 1?
Happy trails
Barry Blanchard
UIAGM/IFMGA Mountain Guide
1 403 609 4615
cell 1 403 609 1321
Saturday, January 23, 2010
[MCR] Cascade Falls
Climbed Cascade Falls today, Jan 23rd. The route is in great shape. An ice window with running water visible behind at the 'gunsite' crux. Your picks punch through in a couple of places, but hooking on it is, then, good. Seems that it iced over during the recent more seasonal cold, I saw open windows there last week at the end of the warmth. Look for a new chain and ring anchor in the first rambley pitches -head height.
Happy trails,
Barry Blanchard
UIAGM/IFMGA Mountain Guide
1 403 609 4615
cell 1 403 609 1321
[MCR] South Coast - Singing Pass Trail
In case you are curious what shape the Singing Pass Trail is in:
I skied down at a leisurely pace from Oboe Creek in about 30 min. Some wet areas had pretty thin snow. And the cross creeks on the road are nasty, but someone built (and even wanded) booters on the uphill side of the larger crossings - so if you have enough speed……. I did not try these.
Generally the trail is not easy as it is frozen and grabby but it is fast.
Skiing quality from ridge top to the trail was quite good throughout. With 15-25 cm ski pen.
Dave Sarkany SG
Friday, January 22, 2010
[MCR] Mt. Hector
Climbed Mt. Hector today (Jan 22) via the north glacier.
The wind has been hard at work in this area and there seems to be no soft snow left. Hard slabs, soft slabs and scoured earth are the norm. Despite this, we had a great day with very light winds, sunny skies and temperatures in the -15 range. Snow depths on the glacier vary from 20 to 160cm with a few patchs of bare ice showing. Many crevasses are still visible and we made use of a rope on the way up. Crampons and ice axe were helpful for the final summit block. No new avalanches were observed today, but there is evidence of a large cornice failure near the toe of the glacier that looks to be about a week old.
Have fun out there!
Jeremy Mackenzie
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
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The wind has been hard at work in this area and there seems to be no soft snow left. Hard slabs, soft slabs and scoured earth are the norm. Despite this, we had a great day with very light winds, sunny skies and temperatures in the -15 range. Snow depths on the glacier vary from 20 to 160cm with a few patchs of bare ice showing. Many crevasses are still visible and we made use of a rope on the way up. Crampons and ice axe were helpful for the final summit block. No new avalanches were observed today, but there is evidence of a large cornice failure near the toe of the glacier that looks to be about a week old.
Have fun out there!
Jeremy Mackenzie
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
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[MCR] Rogan's, Mt Cascade, Banff Park 0122
Rogan's was in great condition today, 3-4 10cm screws work well to protect the thin 2nd pitch. The rest of the ice was fat with a few wet areas on the steeper terrain.
Blue sky's around Banff all day, light East wind, lows -15 highs -4. Both bolts at the last station on the left hand exit are badly damaged from avalanche debris.
Cheers
Mark Stewart
IFMGA/ACMG
www.cirrusalpineguides.com
www.cirrusalpineguides.com
Thursday, January 21, 2010
[MCR] Rogers Pass Jan 18 - 20
NRC: The surface hoar is down 80 - 90 cm at treeline. We had a massive whumpf while digging a pit. A couple more when three of us jumped together. The layer is hard to trigger, but if triggered has the potential to release large avalanches. Ski quality was good. A thin, breakable sun crust formed on more sun exposed aspects.
Hospital Bowl: Great skiing, only a bit wind stiff on some spots. We did not find the late December surface hoar above 2200m. A pit below Ursus Minor Col showed a strong and well consolidated snowpack with a thin ice lense about 80 cm down that seemed to bond well to the layers above and below. Lots of old avalanche debris from the last storm cycle on various aspects. New surface hoar was building rapidly around tree line.
Lookout Notch: Strong wind effect in the entire Illecilleweat drainage above 1600-1700 m.
Overall improving conditions. Still watch out for the late December surface hoar in particular in unreleased slopes around treeline and large steep openings below
treeline. This layer is still good for surprises.
Mountain Guide (IFMGA/UIAGM)
OnTop ltd
1-800 506 7177
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
[MCR] Bourgeau left
Climbed Bourgeau left today. On route we found near perfect conditions. Despite some sun affect on the first and last pitch gear was good. The anchor at the top of the second pitch is basically done and needs total replacement. A single bolt hole is visible and appears to be full depth, making for what i beleive to be a quick 3/8" replacement does not look like 10mm(?).
On another note, the trail was good but once in the open became hard to follow due to recent wind/snow cover. We followed the harder surfaces to the base of the route in order to avoid punching to our knees. For the most part we found good support over shallow sections of wind/temperature affected snow.
Depending on the snow that comes in over weekend (possibly as much as 20cm without considering wind and colder overall temperatures) the approach might take on a completely different feel. I don't get the feeling the snow will stick too well to the steeper sections.
Cheers
Patrick Delaney
ACMG Alpine Guide
alpineguide@hotmail.com
403 688 6003
"Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value."
Albert Einstein
Monday, January 18, 2010
[MCR] Howsons healed
Last week's terrible weather brought down large avalanches just in time
for a CAA Level I course. I'm sure glad they weren't here to ski! Now
things are cooling down and the 16 December surface hoar layer is well
squashed and bridged under 30 to 60 cm of hard and heavy crusts. We are
back to our usual pattern of concern about storm snow only. Of that
there is a bit, and the skiing has also markedly improved. While the
snowpack in the valley bottom is still a bit shallow at 175 cm, I found
more than 350 cm at the toe of the Solitaire Glacier. I could not see
the crevasse zones on the Loft and Burnie Glaciers, but suspect that
they are now well covered. There was no widespread avalanching in the
alpine, so I think that the surface hoar was destroyed there before it
got buried. Good times are here again.
for a CAA Level I course. I'm sure glad they weren't here to ski! Now
things are cooling down and the 16 December surface hoar layer is well
squashed and bridged under 30 to 60 cm of hard and heavy crusts. We are
back to our usual pattern of concern about storm snow only. Of that
there is a bit, and the skiing has also markedly improved. While the
snowpack in the valley bottom is still a bit shallow at 175 cm, I found
more than 350 cm at the toe of the Solitaire Glacier. I could not see
the crevasse zones on the Loft and Burnie Glaciers, but suspect that
they are now well covered. There was no widespread avalanching in the
alpine, so I think that the surface hoar was destroyed there before it
got buried. Good times are here again.
--
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.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
[MCR] South Coast,Flute, Oboe Creek
I was skiing on the NE side of Flute into the Oboe drainage today. Very good if not excellent quality snow with about 30cm ski pen and 60 cm foot penetration.
The last few days of new snow is still bonding a bit loosely. We could ski cut steeper areas and get small slab releases to about 45cm down from the surface. A pit at about 1800m showed easy and moderate results 20cm and 45cm down from the surface. The 45cm test popped out very clean on a layer of stellar. The upper 45 cm was Fist to a hard 4 Finger density. Saw no new natural avalanche activity.
All this encouraged conservative decisions. The Avalanche Hazard at tree line was Considerable today. The weather cleared up beautifully before sunset.
Dave Sarkany
SG
[MCR] Kicking Horse Back Country
Skied in the Mollars area in the Kicking Horse slack country Jan16/17. The late December surface hoar is down 40-60 cm now in below treeline to treeline elevations and VERY reactive. We observed numerous, heavy and widespread whumpfing, remote triggered a 2.5ish slab, and counted
3 other skier triggered 1.5-2ish slabs. Most of the snowpack below the surface hoar layer is strongly faceted.
Thomas Exner
Mountain Guide (IFMGA / UIAGM)
[MCR] Surprise Pass
While heading to the Chateau Lake Louise today to have tea with my elderly auntie I ran into two friends who had toured across the lake and up the valley far enough where they were able to look up at Surprise Pass. They said a large avalanche had pulled out high on the slope skiers left of the main slope, propagated across the main slope to the skiers right side and ran to the valley bottom. They didn't specify size but sounds like a 2.5 at least.
They thought it had been recent and said it covered up some tracks .... yesterdays? Hopefully not todays tracks!
Julie
[MCR] South Coast ~ Spearhead Range
Hoping this finds Everyone enjoying all this new snow of late.
I spent the day yesterday in the Spearhead Range, and visited the major glaciated terrain between Naden Glacier and Phalanx Glacier.
There was avalanche debris evident from the past two major cycles out there and at least one large slab avalanche that had occured around the time that the weather began clearing on Friday afternoon. This avalanche occured naturally on a convex, or bulging, terrain feature on a northwest aspect in the alpine. The snow that avalanched was snow from that storm overnight Thursday and into Friday morning.
Looking into the snow revealed weaknesses, in the upper one-metre of the snowpack, that are in the process of becoming better consolidated but.... the snowpack needs more time to do so. There's been a lot of recent snowfall and loading of many aspects, and strong winds during that time. Terrain features that accentuate stress in the snowpack are certainly suspect (ie. convex alpine slopes, unsupported slopes, steep slopes, etc.).
One layer that is noteworthy currently resides at upper treeline elevations, on north aspects, and down one-metre from the surface and just above a thin crust. This layer resulted in moderate and hard testing but its character, at this stage, suggests it has the potential to propagate across slopes if triggered. Fortunately, there is a fair amount of snow on top to limit the amount of triggering, but I'd be careful in shallower spots and be very mindful of the kind of terrain that's being skied until the layer gains strength.
Finally, crevasses still present a challenge out there as many are still very evident and some are just partially bridged with open holes, despite all the snow this season.
If you're heading out into glaciated terrain, then it's not a bad idea to have a glacier-travel/rescue kit with you and the knowledge of how best to use that gear. Also, consider preparing good rescue/travel plans, in general, before going out and having your contingencies covered.....
Wishing Everyone safe and fun travels.
Best regards,
Dale Marcoux
ACMG Asst. Ski Guide
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I spent the day yesterday in the Spearhead Range, and visited the major glaciated terrain between Naden Glacier and Phalanx Glacier.
There was avalanche debris evident from the past two major cycles out there and at least one large slab avalanche that had occured around the time that the weather began clearing on Friday afternoon. This avalanche occured naturally on a convex, or bulging, terrain feature on a northwest aspect in the alpine. The snow that avalanched was snow from that storm overnight Thursday and into Friday morning.
Looking into the snow revealed weaknesses, in the upper one-metre of the snowpack, that are in the process of becoming better consolidated but.... the snowpack needs more time to do so. There's been a lot of recent snowfall and loading of many aspects, and strong winds during that time. Terrain features that accentuate stress in the snowpack are certainly suspect (ie. convex alpine slopes, unsupported slopes, steep slopes, etc.).
One layer that is noteworthy currently resides at upper treeline elevations, on north aspects, and down one-metre from the surface and just above a thin crust. This layer resulted in moderate and hard testing but its character, at this stage, suggests it has the potential to propagate across slopes if triggered. Fortunately, there is a fair amount of snow on top to limit the amount of triggering, but I'd be careful in shallower spots and be very mindful of the kind of terrain that's being skied until the layer gains strength.
Finally, crevasses still present a challenge out there as many are still very evident and some are just partially bridged with open holes, despite all the snow this season.
If you're heading out into glaciated terrain, then it's not a bad idea to have a glacier-travel/rescue kit with you and the knowledge of how best to use that gear. Also, consider preparing good rescue/travel plans, in general, before going out and having your contingencies covered.....
Wishing Everyone safe and fun travels.
Best regards,
Dale Marcoux
ACMG Asst. Ski Guide
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Saturday, January 16, 2010
[MCR] Rockies, Bow Summit neighbourhood, Jan. 16th, 2010.
As of 2pm saturday, Jan 16th, things were very good in the Bow Summit 'hood. The reset button got hit. Nice, cool, calm and clear day with 30 cms light new snow sitting gently on all the old tracks, crust and wind damage.
Great visibility today and basically no new avalanches observed. A couple of small sloughs and one vague size 2 that was either from a big slough or most likely a cornice fall. All of these came from very steep terrain.
No signs of wind transport right up to ridge tops, again in great visibility. Almost everywhere looked nicely covered and there was some nice looking tracks on the big west facing simple terrain at treeline and just above on Observation pk.
No cracking, whumphing or even moaning:) from the snowpack while breaking trail and skiing downhill in fresh snow all day.
Good to excellent ski quality. Lots of folks out there today but many seemed to be on AST courses.
A wind could change things quickly for the worse. I would assume the Dec 29th surface hoar still lurks weakly in many places, so I would be reluctant to get into complex terrain for awhile. But, till the wind blows I would work on schralping the hell out of the simple and challenging terrain for the common good:)
Banff Jasper highway would make a reasonable hockey surface and the Bow Summit parking lot and road weren't plowed so parking sucked.
Larry Stanier
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
laristan@telus.net
Friday, January 15, 2010
[MCR] Bow Summit 10 01 15
Ski toured Bow Summit today, 30 cm new snow in the last 24hr bonding well to the old surface. Temperature was -4c all day.
Moderate south winds and high humidity levels producing soft slab in wind effected areas in alpine and at tree line.
No avalanche activity, excellent ski quality with ok visibility, snowing 3 cm hour when we left at 4:30.
Road conditions on highway 93 North were slick and deteriorating, only 3 cm new around Lake Louise town site.
Cheers,
Mark Stewart
IFMGA/ACMG
IFMGA/ACMG
Thursday, January 14, 2010
[MCR] Canmore Junk Yards
In spite of balmy temps of up to 5 degrees today, the Canmore Junk Yards are in “as good as it gets” type of shape right now. Only a few drippy spots and lots of plastic ice – largest hazard is the icy road when walking in to the power plant.
Cheers,
Jorg Wilz
Mountain Guide (IFMGA / ACMG)
OnTop ltd.
www.ontopmountaineering.com
1-800 506 7177 or (001) 403 678 2717
[MCR] Super Bock
A pleasant day on Super Bock today. Same snow conditions as Barry's posting from just down the tracks. We opted for parking at the Yoho Valley lot and crossing the Hwy#1 bridge before walking the tracks through the tunnel to the base of the drainage. Travel was quick thanks to an old track up the left side of the drainage and into the gully to the base. The plum line on the final tier was dripping wet, and everything else was dry. Good V-threads still in place for the raps.
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Kristopher Irwin
A.C.M.G. Assistant Alpine Guide
Banff, Alberta
403-763-7018
A.C.M.G. Assistant Alpine Guide
Banff, Alberta
403-763-7018
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[MCR] Carlsberg Column
A dripping day on Carlsberg Column today, but nice plastic sticks with the picks. The snow surface was moist when we got there at 07:30, a bit of a surprise as the snow surface was frozen outside my house in Canmore, and in Lake Louise. The climb was fun despite the dripping. Good bridging between independent pillars on the first half. The trails is good and well marked with flagging tape.
Happy trails,
Barry Blanchard
UIAGM/IFMGA Mountain Guide
1 403 609 4615
cell 1 403 609 1321
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
[MCR] Selkirk Mountains, Kootenay Pass
After two days of mild, wet weather in Nelson, I was expecting slushy
conditions in Kootenay Pass today. It was mild, but the skiing was
great. At the highway elevation about 35cm of snow (and some rain)
accumulated during the past storm.
conditions in Kootenay Pass today. It was mild, but the skiing was
great. At the highway elevation about 35cm of snow (and some rain)
accumulated during the past storm.
We toured around Baldy Rocks and The Crags and made ski runs on
southeastern and southern aspects through an elevation range of 2200m to
1800m. We dug two hasty pits on different aspects at 2100m. The Dec 29
surface hoar was found down 70cm on the western aspect and reacted to
moderate to hard compression tests with planar shears. On the
southeastern aspect the Dec 29 crust (no surface hoar) was down 35cm and
produced no results. On both aspects the storm snow was reacting to
moderate compression tests with progressive failures. We skied mostly
moderate terrain, but ski cutting steeper convex rolls produced only
sloughing. There was no evidence of recent avalanche activity although
there was some snowballing on the lower southern aspects.
There seemed to be a 'stepped' temperature change around the 2000m
level. Below this elevation the temperature was near freezing, above
the temperature was -3. The sky was overcast most of the day with a
brief sun appearance mid-day. Later, a system moved in and snow was
falling when we got back to the car at 3:30PM. At the lower elevations
the snow was moist. While skinning up from the bottom of our runs, the
snow was starting to ball up under our skis.
Craig Hollinger,
ACMG Assistant Ski 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, January 11, 2010
[MCR] Howsons 11 Jan 10
On a Level I in the Howsons, we are being treated to a grand avalanche
show. There is an ongoing natural avalanche cycle with avalanches to
size 3.5 running full path. The critical layer seems to be surface hoar
buried around the middle of December. This is extending to ridge tops.
Yesterday's rain and today's sun have triggered many slabs with fracture
lines up to 500 m long.
show. There is an ongoing natural avalanche cycle with avalanches to
size 3.5 running full path. The critical layer seems to be surface hoar
buried around the middle of December. This is extending to ridge tops.
Yesterday's rain and today's sun have triggered many slabs with fracture
lines up to 500 m long.
While conditions are decidedly ugly right now, we are looking forward to
a freeze that will lock in the surface hoar where it has not released.
Those conditions are quite unusual and we are moving around very
cautiously, avoiding any exposure. We rarely see surface hoar lasting so
long and extending so far in our mountains. Where it has not released
and at higher elevations, it may be easily skier triggered with serious
results.
--
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] Rogers Pass: Frequent Flyer
Frequent Flyer path halfway up the Connaught trail came out today, size 2, hit the trail. Hopefully this means the Dec 29 surface hoar layer is cleaned out of that path now.
+0.5 at 1700m in Teddy Bear trees, about 10 cm of new snow, the surface was getting moist. The Dec 29 surface hoar was present here but it was nonreactive in open glades where there are lots of old tracks
Mark Klassen
Mountain Guide
www.alpinism.com
Sunday, January 10, 2010
[MCR] Selkirk Mountains, Whitewater Ski area backcountry
Spent the last three days skiing in the backcountry near the Whitewater
Ski area.
Ski area.
Air temperatures increased from -6C on Friday to around 0 today. There
seemed to be an inversion today, valley temperatures were still below
freezing. On the ski out this afternoon I noticed the snow was
getting wet on the surface. We'll have to see what the approaching
Pineapple Express does to the freezing levels in the next few days.
The Dec 29 surface hoar was easy to find below 1700m elevation and was
down about 40cm. The well-preserved crystals were 25mm in size. Above
this elevation it was harder to find and the crystals were about 10-15mm
where found. Pretty much non-existent above 1900m. Stability tests on
this layer were in the moderate to hard range with planar shears.
Definite absence of recent avalanche activity although there were plenty
of snowballs rolling down the slopes this afternoon. Despite the
apparent stability, I still kept to conservative lines and avoided steep
open slopes. You still can have fun in simple terrain.
Play safe.
Craig Hollinger,
ACMG Assistant Ski 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] Bow Valley Ice and Commonwealth Skiing
Hi All,
Spent last week climbing a lot of low angle ice between the Ghost, Field and Canmore area.
We climbed:
Guinness- Hooked out
Cascade- Hooked out, Water running under thin ice on crux pitch
Rogan’s
Coire Dubh
This House of Sky- Ice shelves on river crossings getting pretty big on the drive, feels committing
Hidden Dragon/ Joker
Junkyards
Grotto- His is pretty sporty but the rest is good
Finishing Hammer Gully- Really good on super cold days if the sun is out
Spray River Falls
All routes are in and are largely in their mid season “hooked out” shape.
Skied around Commonwealth Creek today and the effects of the latest Chinook winds and all of the people out playing have had an impact on the skiing conditions. Expect to find wind crust and hard slab in open areas and you better have a few cards up your sleeve if you want to find some fresh snow in places that aren’t either too scary or wind hammered in K-Country. Not much for recent activity that we could see but it probably wouldn’t be hard to find a spot to trigger an avalanche with all of that wind loading. Still a great day for a walk.
--
Marc Piché
ACMG, IFMGA
Spent last week climbing a lot of low angle ice between the Ghost, Field and Canmore area.
We climbed:
Guinness- Hooked out
Cascade- Hooked out, Water running under thin ice on crux pitch
Rogan’s
Coire Dubh
This House of Sky- Ice shelves on river crossings getting pretty big on the drive, feels committing
Hidden Dragon/ Joker
Junkyards
Grotto- His is pretty sporty but the rest is good
Finishing Hammer Gully- Really good on super cold days if the sun is out
Spray River Falls
All routes are in and are largely in their mid season “hooked out” shape.
Skied around Commonwealth Creek today and the effects of the latest Chinook winds and all of the people out playing have had an impact on the skiing conditions. Expect to find wind crust and hard slab in open areas and you better have a few cards up your sleeve if you want to find some fresh snow in places that aren’t either too scary or wind hammered in K-Country. Not much for recent activity that we could see but it probably wouldn’t be hard to find a spot to trigger an avalanche with all of that wind loading. Still a great day for a walk.
--
Marc Piché
ACMG, IFMGA
[MCR] Rogers Pass: Bonney Trees
In the Bonney Trees area today and the December 29 surface hoar is still twitchy. We had a rutschblock 4, most of the block, and were able to ski cut a size 1.5 avalanche, both at about 1800 m in a sparsely treed area. It propagated about 12 m, was 35 cm deep and ran through the trees and across some low angled terrain before it stopped.
We didn't see any recent natural avalanches.
Mark Klassen
Mountain Guide
[MCR] Professsor Falls, Banff National Park
Really nice climbing with a couple of folks on Professor Falls today. The climb has formed up nice and fat. It was dry for the first 3 tiers. Above that things started to get pretty wet but the final pitch still had a dry line on it and is very good shape. If the mild temps continue expect a fair bit of 'moisture' on the route. Very little snow on or around the route but a few small wind slabs to keep an eye on if doing the walk off from the top.
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
www.conradjanzenguiding.com
Saturday, January 9, 2010
[MCR] Mt MacPherson
Skiing on S side of MacPherson yesterday noted soft wind effect above treeline. Surface hoar down 35-40 cm below 2000 m, but most reactive around 1700 m. Very easy quick shears at this elevation and SH to 15 mm.. Rutschblock 1. Easy ski cutting in terrain steeper than 30 deg. Surface faceting getting buried while I type this note.
Craig Ellis
Mountain Guide
Friday, January 8, 2010
[MCR] Tryst Lake Jan 7th
Hello,
Spent yesterday skiing at Tryst Lake in K-Country.
The avalanche bulletin provided an accurate picture for this area. We found no slab development in the recent storm snow but the buried surface hoar was very easy to see 20 cm down. Winds from the SW had began to blow by the end of the day as forecasted.
Many of the main lines have been heavily skied, most likely breaking up the surface hoar, but I would be cautious with being exposed to or venturing into previously unskied terrain in the area as slab development occurs.
Ski quality was good in untracked snow and much like skiing at the ski hill everywhere else.
Jesse de Montigny
Yamnuska Mountain Adventures
ACMG Ski Guide
ACMG Assistant Alpine Guide
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Spent yesterday skiing at Tryst Lake in K-Country.
The avalanche bulletin provided an accurate picture for this area. We found no slab development in the recent storm snow but the buried surface hoar was very easy to see 20 cm down. Winds from the SW had began to blow by the end of the day as forecasted.
Many of the main lines have been heavily skied, most likely breaking up the surface hoar, but I would be cautious with being exposed to or venturing into previously unskied terrain in the area as slab development occurs.
Ski quality was good in untracked snow and much like skiing at the ski hill everywhere else.
Jesse de Montigny
Yamnuska Mountain Adventures
ACMG Ski Guide
ACMG Assistant Alpine Guide
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[MCR] Whistler - Spearhead Traverse
Out for a tour on the Spearhead traverse today. In general there is 2-3 m of snow on the glaciers and quite good coverage for this time of year. However there are a few things to watch out for. Even though the glaciers have more snow than normal the crevasses are much more prevalent than normal. There are WAY more crevasses on all the glaciers than the same time last year, and last year there was almost half the snow!
We got caught on the Iago Glacier in poor to non existent visibility and our pace went from very quick to a snails pace in only a few minutes. We ended up roping up (almost never do on this trip) three separate times because of the crevasses and poor visibility.
Here are a few observations from our trip:
-In general many sags on all glaciers.
-Decker glacier has some big crevasses open near the top this year.
-Spearhead glacier has some really big crevasses open on the skiers right side.
-The short cut up to the east to Tremor from Paterson is non existent due to crevasses.
-Travel up to Iago up the Iago glacier is quite difficult in poor visibility due to large crevasses and variable snow coverage in this area. Snow depth here ranged from 1m to 3m+.
-Diavlo Gl has a few more crevasses than normal.
-The cornices above the traverse from Fitzimmons to Overlord are very overhanging and fragile looking. As well there are a few crevasses in this area.
-A few larger than normal crevasses on the traverse from Overlord to Whirlwind peak
-The singing pass trail is in fairly good condition, but there are a few trees down in the Oboe creek area.
We were quite happy to have a rope and crevasse rescue gear and the knowledge of how to use it today. Stuff really doesn't look the same out there this year! It is a good idea to plan you trip with some extra time to navigate through tough spots and maybe to wait for really good visibility when traveling on any glaciers this winter.
Craig McGee, Mountain Guide
craigskibum@yahoo.com
--
Cheers,
John Furneaux
ACMG/IFMGA
Mountain Guide
604.892.4689
Thursday, January 7, 2010
[MCR] Another inversion
This morning at 07:00 AM
Lake Louise Townsite -30
Wapta Icefield (9700 feet) -4
Marc Ledwidge
Manager, Mountain Safety Programs
Banff, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks
220 Hawk Avenue
Box 900, Banff, AB
T1L 1K2
Ph: 403-762-1401
_______________________________________________
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.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
[MCR] Evan Thomas Cougar
Worked in Evan Thomas Creek today. Had the whole area to ourselves all day, or so we thought. As we were hiking out, about 500m from the parking lot, we rounded a corner on the big trail and came across a cougar sitting in the middle of the trail. It followed us back up the trail as we walked backwards pathetically armed with tools in hand. Eventually we escaped to the Creek and hiked to the highway from there. I returned for our packs later with a Conservation officer, but we did not see him/her anymore, but there were plenty of tracks.
We noticed relatively fresh tracks in the morning when we were hiking in, but having taken that trail so many times in the past, I didn't think too much of it. I think in the future if I see cougar tracks I will reconsider my days plan a bit more. Just wanted to give a heads up!
We noticed relatively fresh tracks in the morning when we were hiking in, but having taken that trail so many times in the past, I didn't think too much of it. I think in the future if I see cougar tracks I will reconsider my days plan a bit more. Just wanted to give a heads up!
Sarah Hueniken
Alpine 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.
[MCR] Monashee mtns, west of the Perry river, North od the TCH and across from the Gorge, Craigellachie ck Jan 6th, 2010
In the Monashees, just across Craigellachie ck from the Gorge non-motorized zone, life is good. We were all worried about an impending avalanche cycle on surface hoar and it never happened here while lots of other places are having to tiptoe around. Our surface hoar may have got disturbed a bit by the wind the night before it was buried, it seems to have settled into the soft snow layer below it and it has yet to receive enough snow and or wind to create a real slab on top of it.
We got into the alpine today and it all looked good. We aren't exactly hucking off the summit cornice yet:), but we are carefully skiing some big country after lots of tests and a good look around today. Probably, if nothing changes we will be going into some more big country tomorrow.
Cold clear day today but no noticeable sun effect at treeline or above when we departed around 3pm.
Enjoy it in this neighbourhood but don't take this info very far from here. Things are much more complicated and scary elsewhere.
Larry Stanier
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
Monday, January 4, 2010
[MCR] Johnston Canyon
Excellent day at
Happy ice,
Eric Dumerac- IFMGA/ACMG Mountain Guide
www.iceXperts.ca
1-877-309-7673
Get a great deal on Windows 7 and see how it works the way you want. See the Windows 7 offers now.
[MCR] Crowfoot Glades
Taught an AST 1 course yesterday at Crowfoot Glades. Conditions were excellent, with about 20cm ski pen and some face shots -5 and very light breeze, S-1. Agressive ski cutting and compression tests did not produce any significant results on N and NE aspects at below treeline & treeline elevations. 2 x Sz 2 avalanches from steep unskiable terrain- no secondaries. We found the surface hoar layer 30-35 down where it was producing hard results. I would of expected more results from this layer as the crystals are still well preserved though mainly lying flat. Where not wind affected, the new storm snow above the surface hoar still had not settled into a stiff enough layer to cause concern at this point. We noticed wind transported snow off of Crowfoot mountain all day. Test results: NE 2180, 20deg, CTE 7 RP 18 down on large preserved stellars & CTM 16 B 34 down on SH, ST VH 115 on Fc
Happy turns,
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Happy turns,
Eric Dumerac- IFMGA/ACMG Mountain Guide
www.mountainskillsacademy.com
Canada: Canmore 1-877-309-7673
Get Windows 7 for only $39.99-CDN College or University students only. This offer ends Jan 3-upgrade now!
[MCR] Little Sifton
Toured over Little Sifton today. Gave "Puff Daddy" a miss. No new
naturals observed today, nor any new skier triggered avalanches.
Stability in the upper 50cm of the snowpack seemed quite a bit better
in the alpine. Zero wind effect at ridgeline. It was interesting to
see all the old ski tracks under the recent storm snow. Surface hoar
layer down 40ish was definitely an issue at treeline. Snow got twitchy
there so we skied very conservatively down through the elevation band
1900m to 1700m on as low angle terrain as we could find in the Hermit
area, away from the worst convexities, ditches and steep openings
overhead. Most of the gully walls and convex rolls had gone naturally
during the storm in this elevation band. Skiing the debris was still
fairly soft though and nothing bigger than a size 2. Beautiful skies
and good visibility above the fog bank. Lots of new surface hoar
forming on top right up into the alpine, which may not last, we shall
see.
naturals observed today, nor any new skier triggered avalanches.
Stability in the upper 50cm of the snowpack seemed quite a bit better
in the alpine. Zero wind effect at ridgeline. It was interesting to
see all the old ski tracks under the recent storm snow. Surface hoar
layer down 40ish was definitely an issue at treeline. Snow got twitchy
there so we skied very conservatively down through the elevation band
1900m to 1700m on as low angle terrain as we could find in the Hermit
area, away from the worst convexities, ditches and steep openings
overhead. Most of the gully walls and convex rolls had gone naturally
during the storm in this elevation band. Skiing the debris was still
fairly soft though and nothing bigger than a size 2. Beautiful skies
and good visibility above the fog bank. Lots of new surface hoar
forming on top right up into the alpine, which may not last, we shall
see.
We did lots of hand shear tests on the way up and down, skied one at a
time through a fair bit of terrain which I don't often do, felt like a
good thing today.
Anna Brown
Ski 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] South Ghost Lacy Gibbet
Climbed Lacy Gibbet yesterday in the south ghost. Beautiful climb in a beautiful setting. The climb is fully in and a trail is in for the approach. 2 solid hours to get to the base of the first pitch. Dry but good ice on all the pitches (despite its southern exposure), but the final Grade V pitch. This one is wet with mushrooms, chandeliers and 13cm screws gave very little confidence. Bring some longer screws for this pitch. 6 V-threads in place to get you down with 2 60m ropes.
Drive into South Ghost pretty mellow other than a few rutted areas that could be tricky with a low clearance vehicle.
Drive into South Ghost pretty mellow other than a few rutted areas that could be tricky with a low clearance vehicle.
Sarah Hueniken
Alpine 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.
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