Search MCR

Sunday, February 20, 2011

[MCR] Rogers Pass - Bonnie Moraines / Mt Green

Spent a pleasant day at the Pass today with my wife Deb and Karsten Heuer. Clear skies, light wind and a high of -13 observed.

We skied the N face of Mt Green with a detour and short but excellent pitch (no wind effect) on the Bonnie Moraines enroute to gain the couloir up to the summit ridge. Some surface hoar developing in this area, small, up to 2mm observed at treeline.

It would be wise to bring lightweight boot crampons and perhaps ice axe for the final rockband before the col. It's dodgy for about 10m without.

The summit ridge travels well on hard facetted snow. The descent down the north side -- looks like a previous party dug through the cornice on the west side. We descended the NE ridge directly from the summit dropping about 75m before cutting left. The skiing here wasn't great and there's some dicey steep sidestepping through a rockband covered in facets to the glorious slopes below but it worked. Ski quality from there was generally excellent with some wind press especially at the top.

Travel was quick on existing tracks (thanks to whomever cut the excellent uptrack up to the col) and trailbreaking was light to moderate with less than boot top penetration.

Tom Wolfe
---
Tom Wolfe
Mountain Guide ACMG/IFMGA
cell: 403-861-1079 home: 403-678-4997
sent via Blackberry
_______________________________________________
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.