[MCR] Jasper National Park now narrowband

Note to all who have Jasper National Park frequencies on your radios, JNP
simplex and repeater frequencies have been switched to narrowband.

Pls adjust your radio settings to reflect this change.

FYI.

Garth Lemke
Public Safety Warden
ACMG Assistant Ski Guide

Garde de parc, Sécurité publique
Guide de ski auxiliaire, Association des guides de montagne canadiens

Jasper National Park of Canada | Parc national du Canada Jasper
Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
P.O. Box 10, Jasper AB T0E 1E0 | C.P. 10, Jasper (Alberta) T0E 1E0
Garth.Lemke@pc.gc.ca
Telephone | Téléphone 780-852-6158
Facsimile | Télécopieur 780-852-6138
Cellular Phone | Téléphone cellulaire 780-852-8811
Government of Canada | Gouvernement du Canada
www.pc.gc.ca/jasper


Think GREEN! Please don't print this email unless you really need to.
Soyez ÉCOLO! N'imprimez ce courriel que si vous devez vraiment le faire.






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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] Spearhead Traverse May 2-4

Overcast skies on Friday left us with some good skiing from the previous storm with hard planar shears on the old temp crust down about 35cm.  An additional 8cm of new snow fell Friday night and bonded well under warm temps which made for great skiing right from ridge tops for the first half of Saturday.  In the pm, skies cleared for the first time in several days resulting in a short cycle of wet snow avalanches on steep solar aspects and horrible sloppy skiing down the Macbeth glacier.  A 4cm temperature crust froze up Sat. night which supported well but quickly broke down again on Sunday with more clear skies.  Generally fast travel conditions with 0-5cm ski pen, although the wet snow was slow going on the low angle t! errain when the skins came off.  A fresh glide wax job would have made a big difference – especially at lower elevations.  Crevasses were still very well bridged with 350+cm probed on the glaciers.  Some sizable cornices loom over the north aspects of Mt. Benvolio and the Overlord – Refuse traverse.  Give these a wide margin, especially as temps increase.  The ski out to Whistler is endless skis on-again-off-again as you cross all the plowed, muddy roads.  Good thing these were interspersed by some nice cream cheese skiing! on the piste.  Watch for bears on the way out – although the one we saw didn't seem too interested in us.

 

Shaun King

Alpine Guide/Asst. Ski Guide

[MCR] Athabasca Glacier May 3 weekend

On May 3rd we went up the Athabasca glacier to the top of the ramp and set up camp. High 2 low -6. Height of snow on the lower glacier varied between 165 and 210cm. At 2800 the snowpack was over 385cm. In the P.M. moist snow on all aspects up to 2500M. Late spring up there and the glacier was still in good shape with good bridges and no sags. Traversing under the seracs seemed a dangerous option. as they are shedding regularly. A group had placed wands on the Athabasca gl. and all the way up the ramp towards Snowdome. Along the flats before the ramp these were close to the slopes below the serac's. I watched them get raked twice by serac fall. We took a line of approach as close as we dared to the obvious open slots on climbers left. Though this area is noted for more crevaces, it is 50 meters or more away and though there was debris there also it gave one greater margin of safety. Along this route we encountered no crevace problems and were able to quickly gain the large bench below the ramp where one can go well left. 10 minutes below seracs though we were hauling a sled (client training for Denali), probably 6 minutes for ski tourers. Still this route seems dangerous. I had a good look at the far climbers left option below Andromeda and I think this is a better choice to gain the ramp for the future. Although closer inspection is needed, it seems like the glacier has changed enough that it would go. To note is that there is an excellent crevace rescue location at the toe of the Athabasca on climbers right side. The site is easily accessed with a short hike from the summer road, has no hazards other than itself, is about 40 meters wide and 10-15 meters high. It can be seen from the parking lot. 
Get out there,
Eric Dumerac
Ski guide/Assistant Alpine Guide

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[MCR] (no subject)

On May 3rd we went up the Athabasca glacier to the top of the ramp and set up camp. High 2 low -6. Height of snow on the lower glacier varied between 165 and 210cm. At 2800 the snowpack was over 385cm. In the P.M. moist snow on all aspects up to 2500M. Late spring up there and the glacier was still in good shape with good bridges and no sags. Traversing under the seracs seemed a dangerous option. as they are shedding regularly. A group had placed wands on the Athabasca gl. and all the way up the ramp towards Snowdome. Along the flats before the ramp these were close to the slopes below the serac's. I watched them get raked twice by serac fall. We took a line of approach as close as we dared to the obvious open slots on climbers left. Though this area is noted for more crevaces, it is 50 meters or more away and though there was debris there also it gave one greater margin of safety. Along this route we encountered no crevace problems and were able to quickly gain the large bench below the ramp where one can go well left. 10 minutes below seracs though we were hauling a sled (client training for Denali), probably 6 minutes for ski tourers. Still this route seems dangerous. I had a good look at the far climbers left option below Andromeda and I think this is a better choice to gain the ramp for the future. Although closer inspection is needed, it seems like the glacier has changed enough that it would go. To note is that there is an excellent crevace rescue location at the toe of the Athabasca on climbers right side. The site is easily accessed with a short hike from the summer road, has no hazards other than itself, is about 40 meters wide and 10-15 meters high. It can be seen from the parking lot. 
Get out there,
Eric Dumerac
Ski guide/Assistant Alpine Guide

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[MCR] Lyell and Mons Icefields, Rockies, April 26-May 03, 2008

Just back from a really fun week of ski touring and climbing on the Mons and Lyell Icefields in the Rockies! 

 

We had cool temperatures and 40-60cm of new snow in the alpine during the middle of the week (good boot top powder skiing!!), followed by two days of blue skies and warmer temps.  This has resulted in well settled spring conditions below 2600m and on most solar aspects.  Higher terrain and N aspects still had unconsolidated storm snow as of yesterday and we were careful to avoid wind loaded areas in these locations. 

 

We saw quite a number of cornice failures at the end of the storm, some of which were pulling out slabs in the recent storm snow yesterday.  We also had the usual solar triggered sluffs and slides expected with daytime warming.  Early starts were important to take advantage of the good travel and low hazard in the morning.

 

Coverage on the glaciers was good with over 320cm in all areas with the exception of wind affected spots on steep rolls and at ridge tops.

 

Good travel, good spring skiing, and lots of great tours and peaks to climb and ski in the area!

 

Cheers, Conrad Janzen

Mountain Guide with the Alpine Club of Canada

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[MCR] ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary for May 1st, 2008

ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued May 1st, 2008.

 

This is the first Mountain Conditions Summary for 2008. Last week, the Canadian Avalanche Centre issued its last regular avalanche bulletin for the season, though they could still produce a special bulletin in the event of unusual conditions. The Mountain National Parks are still producing excellent avalanche bulletins, please reference them if you are planning on skiing or climbing in those areas. Please be aware, this summary is being produced at a time when there are relatively few Mountain Guides  active in the mountains and many operations concerned with avalanche hazard management are shutting down for the season. We will do the best we can to provide a clear picture of what we know is happening in the mountains, but spring is always a period of dynamic change in the snow and we have very few eyes on the ground to observe with in the next few weeks.  

 

I can't imagine it is a suprise to anyone to hear me say that winter still rules in the mountains.

 

There is still over 100cms of settled snow on the ground at Bow Summit and at the Rogers Pass. The long days, more intense radiation and supposedly warmer temperatures of spring are only slowly starting to effect the snowpack in most places. From all reports from the Rockies and the Columbias I get the impression that we are still a long way away from what I would consider a "normal"spring snowpack. Below treeline the snow has probably gone through enough melt freeze cycles to have gained some strength when it is cold. However, at treeline and in the alpine, even south faces have probably not lost their deep weak layers. Especially on north facing terrain and in the alpine, any daytime warming is being added to a still wintery snowpack with some signifigant, persistent weak layers. I suspect there is still lots of potential for LARGE slab avalanches in the foreseeable future, especially if we ever get some HOT, HIGH RADIATION spring weather.

 

Alpine climbing is probably possible if you have a spell of settled weather and some cold temperatures. Be VERY choosy if you are looking for alpine climbing in the near future and don't be caught anywhere in avalanche terrain when things start to warm up. Again, the snow is almost more like March than May right now. The problem with this "March" snowpack is that it has the potential for producing big, nasty avalanches when the springtime heat is added to it. LOTS of full-size cornices still hanging around the ridges and a winters worth of freshly frost shattered rock to be clobbered with. Hmm, doesn't all that sound appealling?

 

Rockclimbing in the region still seems to be limited to valley bottom east slope crags such as the Canmore area, Spillimacheen and Begbie. South facing cliffs like Yamnuska are drying off in a day or two after each snowfall, but there is still lots of snow on the north faces and in gullies.

 

Skiis and quickdraws seem to be the most appropriate tools for recreation right now, but there is still some melting ice around for the desperate.

 

Good luck and be patient. It has to get nice eventually, doesn't it?

 

Larry Stanier

Mountain Guide

[MCR] Coast - McBride Range

Got back yesterday from an attempt on the McBride Traverse. 

Started at Diamond Head on April 25 and made it to the ridge above Drop Pass by midday April 27, when the monsoon came in. Dug in and waited it out til the morning of April 29. Strong winds, lots of storm snow, no change in the barometer (which had dropped 17 millibars) and a poor weather forecast necessitated a retreat back to Garibaldi Lake on April 29. Skied out April 30.

Storm snow amounts were highly variable due to the strong south winds, from 0-100 cm depending on aspect and elevation. 50-60 cm in sheltered areas. Our route back was mostly on the windward side of the range so the storm snow was generally wind pressed or soft sastrugi with little signs of slabbing. The storm started very warm and ended fairly cold and things seemed to bonding well to the previous surfaces, which were temperature/sun crusts nearly everywhere. We didn't observe cracking or whumpfing or any avalanche activity, but visibility was quite poor the day we retreated. In the Garibaldi Lake area with better visibility little recent activity was observed. I suspect some wind slabs in lee areas and tender cornices, and a wet avalanche cycle will surely occur when the sun comes out.

Mark Klassen

Mountain Guide