[MCR] Ice Conditions

A few more observations to add to the sparse amount coming in.

 

Nov 6th - Climbed the Christmas present. Not much new info to give from the previous posts. There was however a fair amount of water still running so it may fatten up with the right conditions.

 

Nov 7th - Had a look at Haffner Creek. The ice is starting to show up but if it starts to get climbed there might not be much left later on. I would give it a miss for now.

 

Nov 9th - Climbed all but the last pitch of Murchison's. It is in pretty good shape when you look at what the Bow Valley looks like....good screws and you are unlikely to hit any rock. There is a fair amount of flowing water coming from the last pitch, which with a windy day like we had today can soak you quickly! Not much snow anywhere in this bowl to worry about.

 

The first few pitches of Virtual Reality look good but the huge hanging dagger is scary looking.

 

As a side note the skiing at Bow Summit looks bleak to none existent with around 30cm of snow on the ground.

 

Have a good and safe weekend!

 

Jesse de Montigny

ACMG Ski Guide

ACMG Assistant Alpine Guide

[MCR] ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary for Nov. 8th, 2007.

ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued November 8th, 2007

 

It has been another warm, windy and mostly dry week in the Rockies. We have had very little information coming in from guides in the field. This could have something to do with the generally terrible skiing and climbing conditions. As a gross generalization ice climbing conditions have deteriorated in the past week. The avalanche hazard has increased, the temperatures have melted a lot of ice and there is snow on the rock at mid elevations and above. You can probably take a wild guess as to what all that wind and warm temperatures have done to the skiing. The temperatures are forecasted to drop a little over the weekend so there is still ice in the future.

 

Conditions are slowly improving in the Columbias but it is still the same early season problems. It is probably precipitating in the Columbias as you read this. For more detailed information, go to the Glacier National Park avalanche bulletin.

 

Banff and Glacier National Parks are now producing bulletins. I strongly encourage you to use these excellent products. If you have any plans for travel in avalanche terrain in these parks, read them throughout the season. This will help you develop a clearer picture of the conditions as they evolve over the winter and allow you to make better decisions when you are in the terrain.

 

The Canadian Avalanche Center will begin producing their public avalanche bulletins next week. Therefore, this will be the last ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary for the season. We shall start with the summaries again in late spring when the CAC stops producing bulletins. As with the parks bulletins I strongly encourage you to make full use of the CAC's fabulous product. ACMG guides will still be posting MCR's from their travels to supplement the Parks and CAC's regular bulletins.

 

Thank You for tuning in to our reports and for all the great feedback we have had. Have a fun and safe winter!

 

Larry Stanier

Mountain Guide

[MCR] Selkirk Mountains - Rogers Pass - Bruins Pass Nov.8-07

The last system left 10cm. in the Connaught Ck. valley bottom and 15-20cms. new snow above treeline.

 

Sunny skies and mild temps resulted in some snowballing (and suncrust formation) off steeper south-southwest facing slopes – otherwise the snow was dry and loose on the surface with little wind effect from the last storm observed in the area.

 

No recent avalanches observed and ski cuts did not produce any results.

 

In tests the snowpack in this area appeared well bonded to the crust down 60-80cms. from the surface.

 

The 10cms of snow in the valley bottom has transformed an icy deadly bobsled track into reasonable skiing.

 

Looks like more precip on the way and this afternoon’s darkening skies have produced light rain in Revelstoke this evening.

 

Cheers,

 

Scott Davis

Mountain Guide

[MCR] Rogers Pass - Balu Pass - Nov.4/07 Ski conditions

What a change 48 hrs can make.

 

Saturdays storm triggered a good size avalanche cycle off Mt Cheops (N. Aspect) into Connaught Ck., quite a few of which ran to the end of their fans, one healthy class 3.0 for sure – all the avalanches ran during the warm phase of the storm that occurred on Sat. PM when it rained to 1800m.

 

Later Saturday night and into Sunday morning, it cooled dramatically forming a variable strength raincrust below 1800m.. Above 1800m I would estimate 30-40cm. storm snow with snowpacks in the Balu area averaging 120cm. almost all of which feels about the same strength until you hit the crust down about 60-80cm.

 

I saw a couple of shears in the storm snow down 20 and 30 cms. but they didn’t appear reactive to skiers. The snow was not light powder, but more spongy (for lack of a better term) and carvable with fairly shallow ski penetration (which is good at this time of year).

 

Weather cleared off by late afternoon and it is clear tonight so things should just tighten up even more and I imagine the surface crust will get stronger and may support better tomorrow. Today skiing out the trail (which is right were the raincrust forms) was nothing short of deadly and I can hardly recommend it to anyone. There were quite a few people up there today (at least 20) – I was happy not to find any injured on the track out (me included).

 

Cheers,

 

Scott Davis

Mountain Guide

 

[MCR] Duffy lake snow and ice condition.

Out for a nice Sunday drive along the Duffy lake road.
Looks like the major snow line is around the same
elevation as the Flavele hut, with a bit of snow
lingering down a few hundred feet into the trees. At
around 7000ft things change quite a bit. It looks like
it has been snowing for a while at this elevation. All
the shrunds on the North face of Joffre are gone and
there are two large size 2 or 2.5's out from the north
glacier of Joffree and the North face of Matier. It
also looks like the wind has been quite active at
ridge crest.
It didn't look like good skiing or climbing, both of
which we were up there to do...hence the Sunday drive.
Happy hunting. Craig

Craig McGee, ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
102-4369 Main St. Suite #337
Whistler BC
Canada
V0N 1B4
cell 604 902 0296
Home 604 935 0077

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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] ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary issued Nov. 1, 2007.

ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued November 1, 2007.

 

It has been a bit of strange week in the Rockies. Lots of wind, no snow in some areas, intense snow in others and temperatures swinging well to either side of 0.

Skiing is a non event from all accounts in the Rockies. With almost no snow on the ground in most places and lots of wind in the past two days, keeping your skiis safely inside is a good idea in this neighbourhood. Ice climbers have been having a little more luck, but the early season ice probably demands mid season skills and a willingness to operate without ice screws. Almost all routes right now should be assumed to be way harder and more serious than in it's "usual" condition. The past days wind and scattered snow have also build some REAL windslabs in places. Ice climbers need to be thinking hard about the stability on and above their routes. There have been some vague reports of significantly more snow up the Icefields Parkway and along the Continental Divide. We just don't have enough information at this point to make an informed call on the avalanche danger. My trip planning right now certainly starts with the premise that I am not going anywhere without at least being able to see clearly what the conditions look like on and above my proposed route. The routes in the Bow Valley are mainly snow free and the rock is fairly dry so mixed climbing adventures probably get the highest quality rating right now. Bring LOTS of rock gear and an open mind!!! 

 

It also seems to have been a bit of a dull week in the Columbia Mountains. Mt. Fidelity(1905m- west side of Rogers Pass) got 25 cms of snow yesterday and Revelstoke Mountain resort got 10cms. The 25cms of snow at Rogers Pass was observed to be not bonding well to the crust layer below it. This crust was found on a south facing slope but may be the result of warm temperatures rather than just sun and could be found on all aspects. This is probably the main short term concern at Rogers Pass right now. They have had 100mm of precipitation(that is a lot of mixed rain and snow)in the past week and continue to see the odd BIG avalanche come out of the big alpine faces on Mt. Tupper and Mt. MacDonald.(just east of the summit) At Revelstoke they saw only small recent cornice triggered avalanches.

 

The snowpack in the Columbias is still shallow. 96cms at Fidelity is pretty skinny for this time of year. Reports of travel conditions down low are still mostly negative(Walking, skiing down with skins, way too many rocks and alders etc) If you can get above 2200m and to North aspects you may find some decent skiing but you will either be very clever with the access or paying for it somewhere. The shallow snowpack has a fair bit of strength thanks to all the warmth and rain but the rock and wood are still terrifyingly close by if you fall.

 

There may be some good late fall alpine climbing to be had somewhere, but it sure isn't in the Selkirks and I bet it is also pretty scary up at the Columbia Icefields.

 

Everywhere in the summary region sounds a bit warm for the early part of the weekend. This warmth is going to do absolutely nothing good for the early winter recreation quality.

 

Could be time to drive to Kitwanga!

 

Larry Stanier

Mountain Guide

 

 

[MCR] Some Bow Valley Ice Climbing Obs

For those of you itching to swing your ice tools here are a few observations from the last several days.

 

Arterial Spurt was very thin as of 2 days ago with water running below the ice.  We decided not to climb it but it may have fattened up slightly.

 

In the Lougheed area yesterday.  Trick or Treat is in but a bit sporting, probably more like grade 5 to 5+. Ariadne's Thread is in with a few thin spots.

A 2 pitch WI3 route to the right of Ariadne's is also in so if you like long walks there is a bit of a reward.

 

Did a drive by of R & D yesterday and it looked like it would take a few days to get fat enough to be more than a very thin ice solo.

 

Christmas Present today has a bit of water running under the ice and as Larry mentioned, it is climbable but not really protectable…. thoughtful climbing.

 

Urs Hole was still running water yesterday.

 

Seems like a few nice cool nights are still needed to get everything up and running but depending on what you are looking for there is some ice out there especially at higher elevations.  Have fun!

Cheers, Conrad Janzen
IFMGA Mountain Guide
403.678.8336(cell)// 403.760.0887(home)

A person should have wings to carry them where their dreams go, but sometimes a pair of skis makes a good substitute. -Hans Gmoser-

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