Climbed Cascade waterfall today on the Yamnuska multi-pitch "plus" day with two.
Temps were cold -20c at the car at 08:20 and remained cold during our entire climb.
At 10:30and in the sun, it was -14c at the top of the route. We registered -8c at the car at 13:00.
We didn't get much wind on the route and no new transport was observed, the fetch for cascade is quite dry at the moment. There was however a bit of dust blowing over Rundle ridge.
A few things to note. The snow surface throughout the climb is reasonably hard. There is only a few inches of loose snow on ice or various firm surfaces including breakable crusts. Currently Any moving snow or large ice volumes would currently travel quite a distance! Something to think about if following another party or when considering avalanche issues.
The upper bowl looks rather uneven right now with more or less isolated pockets comprising the upper start zones.
Theses are the current conditions, any new snow and wind would quickly change things especially up high on the route!
The warming trend for the rest of the week is something else to consider on this climb! A sudden warming is never really good when it comes to steep snowy icy terrain.
Finally a client dropped a new BD fusion (green). If found please return to Yamnuska Mountain Adventures in exchange for good karma.
We spent some time looking for it on our descent without any luck. The center and climbers left lines were somewhat looked over.
Happy new year to all
Patrick Delaney
ACMG Alpine Guide
Yamnuska Mountain Adventures
403 688 6003