Did the Wapta Traverse from Bow Lake to West Louise Lodge Feb 12-15.
Travel conditions were good, with ski penetration of about 15 cm. Snow cover on the glacier averaged 225 cm, although some of the more exposed areas had as little as 140 cm.
We found the Feb 9 surface hoar layer on all aspects. This layer was down 15 cm and was giving easy moderate compression test results (CTM 11). The Jan 25 layer was down 35 cm and was giving hard moderate test results (CTM 18).
By Feb 14, there was windslab forming in the alpine and we experienced shooting cracks on a 30 degree west aspect at 2800 meters. The east face of Mt Niles had not slid as of Feb 15 and had received enough wind effect to pose a significant threat. We avoided traversing that slope by descending low angle terrain into the drainage below the face and then putting in an up-track through the moraines a few hundred meters further south.
The creek south of Mt Niles had some open water, but travel down to Sherbrooke Lake was generally quite straight-forward.
Grant Meekins
Alpine Guide, Assistant Ski Guide