[MCR] Rockies, Wapta Icefield

I guided a fine week of skiing on the Wapta Icefield from Bow Hut, March 20th-25th. Easy travel across Bow Lake and up the Canyon approach to the Hut. Easy travel everywhere we went on the Icefield. Mts Olive, St Nicholas, Gordon, Rhondda and Habel (Rhondda North) were pretty much getting skied up daily. Great boot-top to knee deep skiing on the northeast through northwest aspects that we skied over the week.

We witnessed a size 1 skier triggered surface slab (a party other than ours) off of a steep convex roll on the northeast ridge of St Nic at about 9000 feet on March 21st. There had been significant snow transport from southwest winds over the evening previous.

A fellow guide/avalanche forecaster and I witnessed a size 1.5  surface slab release naturally from the far east end of the glacier that sits above the hut approach from about the 9000 foot level. The avalanche occurred at 10:00 am and had both said forecaster, and myself, scratching our noggins trying to figure out what the trigger was as the sun had yet to touch the slope ... a wee lurch in the glacier? another mountain goat or wolverine lost?

Happy trails,

Barry Blanchard

Mountain Guide

www.barryblanchard.ca

www.yamnuska.com