[MCR] Howsons 15 Dec 08

Today we shovelled out the lodge and got it ready for the season. There
are 140 cm of snow at the lodge (1030 m). At 1470 m on the Solitaire
Meadows, there are 260 cm of snow. We dug a test pit and found moist
snow at 0 degrees 130 cm down. The air temperature was -18 and the snow
surface -22. There are many crusts embedded in the moist snow, but we
only found shears in the upper layers. There has been some reverse
loading out of the E the last few days and we saw a few size 2
avalanches that had run on W aspects. Otherwise, there was older debris
from the rain event last week and one size 2 on a steep rocky south
aspect. Ski cutting of steep and often windloaded pockets had very small
results. We think the stability is fair in the alpine and good below,
but our observations are still limited.

--
Christoph Dietzfelbinger
IFMGA/ UIAGM Mountain Guide - Bear Mountaineering and the Burnie Glacier Chalet
Box 4222 Smithers, B.C. V0J 2N0 Canada
tel. 250-847-3351/ fax 250-847-2854
info@bearmountaineering.ca www.bearmountaineering.ca

_______________________________________________
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] Monahsee mountains - Perry River - Dec.10-14-08

Here is some information on conditions I observed while working at a Cat skiing operation located above the Perry river (@20 km. north of the Trans Canada on the western side of the range) in the Monashee mountains.

 

Snowpack varies between 80-100cms. below 1800m. and 130-180 above that elevation – significantly less than Rogers Pass which is unusual for this area. That said the recent storm snow from the weekend of Dec.6 & 7^th (@80cms.) as well as the further 20cms. that fell on Dec.12^th has settled out quite a bit and helps to keep you off the low season hazards. Windslabs now exist in exposed treeline and all alpine terrain after the wind event that occurred on the night of Dec.12^th. The other main issues are the Dec.1 crust down 60-80cms., which is not producing any significant results in snowpack tests, and the Nov.21 crust/facet combo down 80-100cms., which though it is still not producing much in test results, lingers as the main issue in the back of my mind.

 

Avalanches: We had no skier triggered activity over the period though the snowcat did trigger several intentional avalanches (to size 3) by pushing large cornices/piles of snow over the ridge onto a steep west facing piece of alpine terrain that, based on the depth of the fractures, appeared to run on the deeper crust (though we didn’t have an opportunity to investigate the failure plain). We also did some explosive control that produced a couple of size 2.5 avalanches out of wind affected alpine features.

 

So for now the skiing is good at and below treeline where the wind didn’t get at things but watch out for the shallow snowpack hazards and give caution to larger features at treeline especially if they have seen any wind affect.

 

Best of the season to all,

 

Scott Davis

ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide

 

[MCR] Rogers Pass, Dec 13/14

Skied in Balu drainage on Saturday and Bostock on Sunday. -25 air temperature with ridge top winds blowing north at 50 km/h.  Constant work to stay warm.

The snow is punched in the alpine and on most exposed places at treeline.  In good light you can see giant waves of windblown snow (sastrugi) on the surface from kilometers away.  The north wind has reverse loaded things and pushed drifts into strange places.

Profile at treeline in Balu (2100m) showed 80 cm of recent storm snow on top of the Dec 1 crust which is decomposing here and looked weak.  No test results on that crust but I wouldn't trust it.  Profile in Bostock at 2100m showed 100 cm of storm snow on the Dec 1 crust which is thinner and not as facetted.  Still a feature to watch but not as bad here (total snowdepth 200cm).  Numerous shears in the storm snow as well as a surface windslab on all exposed areas.  However, my sense was that the -25 has mostly taken the punch out of the snowpack and I did not observe any avalanche activity in two days.  Avoided steep starting zones where the wind had been (and the skiing was terrible!)

Good skiing in sheltered glades at treeline on S and W aspects.

Grant Statham
Mountain Guide

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[MCR] Squamish ice conditions/Rainy day woman

Bruce Kay and I went looking for ice in Squamish today after hearing rumors of some climbable routes. 

We didn't find that much that was actually thick enough to climb and we looked around quite a bit. We did manage to climb Rainy day woman. The climb is in quite good shape although the last pitch wasn't in yet. The first pitch was very thin as usual (1/2- 2 inches thick), however it took excellent small to med cams and wires off to the side in the crack. The second pitch took 13cm screws and a med size cam. Looks like things are about to get really good!

 

Craig McGee, ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide

cell 604 902 0296

craigskibum@yahoo.com

[MCR] Whistler/Blackcomb backcountry conditions

Went for a tour out to Decker Mountain today. Surprisingly there is a fair bit of ski-able slopes out behind Blackcomb at the moment, although there are alot of hazards out there too. 

The only really good places to ski are were there was some snow left over from last winter or on glaciers. 

All the glaciers we skied on today (Decker and Spearman Gl.) had many open crevasses and you had to be quite careful were you went. I sure wouldn't want to be out there in a white out! We probed around a fair bit and found an average of 120cm's over the summer firn. With the high winds and rain we had earlier in the season it has made a fairly good "feel" on the glaciers, but don't be fooled 120cms over a crevasse bridge really isn't that much. When heading out on any glacier right now I'd make sure I had a rope and harness and a long probe for probing.

We also notice quite a bit of wind effect throughout the alpine, some wind slabs that were developing were over 1m thick!  We had several settlements throughout the day and saw one skier triggered slab that I would have been wanted to be caught in. 

Of course one of the biggest hazards out there right now are the rocks. Not just for the hazard while skiing, but also if you were caught in any size of avalanche that ran though these hazards it would not be good. 

There is some good skiing out here, but just be careful and prepared for these not so normal times.

 

Craig McGee, ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
cell 604 902 0296
craigskibum@yahoo.com

[MCR] Dec 13: Haffner Creek, Kootenay National Park, Canadian Rockies

Saturday, Dec 13: Haffner Creek, Kootenay National Park, Canadian
Rockies

The ice was voicing dissatisfaction with the Arctic weather at Haffner
Creek today. All day groans and pops were emanating from the pillars
and daggers. Surprisingly, nothing spontaneously broke but a few of
the snapping sounds were loud enough to make us think they were close
to coming down on there own. We refrained from climbing anything that
was not well supported and hooked out. It is worth the reminder that
sub -30 C temperatures are not ideal for ice climbing. The ice is very
cold resulting in fragile pillars and brittle bulges that are primed
to explode. Definitely avoid hanging out under and climbing on free-
hanging icicles and skinny free-standing pillars (even on top-rope).

Sean Isaac
Assistant Alpine Guide

_______________________________________________
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] Stanley Headwall/Nemesis

Back to Nemesis today.

About 20 cm storm snow in the early morning, with an additional 20 cm
throughout the day for a total storm snow amount 30-40 cm, low density.
Total height of snowpack is around 70 cm at treeline. Snow rates today
were between 1 and 3 cm/hr.

Winds were mainly calm with just enough breeze at times to send torrents
of light spindrift down on our heads throughout the day. Otherwise, no
avalanche activity observed or heard, but visibility was quite poor for
the most part.

It's getting to the point where skiing up Stanley Ck is viable and might
be worth considering if can deal with the risks of early season hazards
and a weak base off the track. It would sure be a challenge with climbing
packs and leather boots right now. We walked in, which still works OK but
it might be worth considering snowshoes if skiing seems a little too scary
right now. 2 1/4 hrs moderate trailbreaking to the base, 1 1/2 hr back
down. A party on Suffer Machine today used skis for access and some hikers
came in on snowshoes.

The climbing was the same as the last time I was there a month ago: fat
ice with good pro, in excellent condition, though plastered with snow
right now.

>From what I saw of the "French Bench" approaching French Reality last
weekend (steep, facetted, shallow snowpack above cliffbands) I would
approach this area with caution right now, especially if it seems like it
got any wind or slabbing going on.

Hard sledding getting the car out of the parking lot! Bring a shovel if
you plan to head there tomorrow in case the plow doesn't make it.

Regards,
Tom Wolfe
AAG/ASG
_______________________________________________
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.