[MCR] London ridge, Goat Range, Selkirk Mtns

On Jan 2, fellow guides Ramin Sherkat and Joe Pavelich joined me for
a ski tour at London ridge on the road between New Denver and Kaslo.
The observations are now 48 hrs old but are still relevant.

It was a beautiful sunny day with an inversion warming temperatures at
treeline and above creating moist snow at the surface and later a thin
crust on southerly aspects.
Windslabs were found at ridge tops only from past moderate to strong
northerly winds. One recently naturally released avalanche size 2 was
observed on a steep North slope.
A snow profile at 1850m on a south aspect showed crusts at 50, 60 and
70cm down from the surface with the crust at 50cm being the sliding
layer (uneven break) on an extended column test producing Hard result
values. Snow depth was 130cm.
The snowpack is generally shallow and yet feels strong enough in most
places. Where the weakness of the snowpack really shows is nearby
smaller trees where sugary snow gives away easily and shallow areas
near ridge tops and rocks.
Tree wells are definitely something to reckon with in this area!
London ridge is steep and exposed almost everywhere and we felt
comfortable enough with the terrain exposure and stability tests
results to continue on our ascent, but we all felt that large,
unsupported, smooth planar slopes would be best left alone due to the
presence of the crust 50cm down in the pack. Having said that, we
skied the South facing avalanche path leading to Bear Lake without any
problems. The best skiing was found on a East facing slope where the
snow stayed cold and sheltered from the sun and wind.
The suncrust and faceted surface snow will now be covered with new
snow and could become weak layers to watch in the future.

All the best for 2011!

Sylvain Hebert
ACMG Ski 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] Melt out

I Climbed melt out on Banff/Jasper highway Yesterday January 3.  Despite the cold temps -18 at 0900 a.m.  The first two pitches were extremely wet and the last pitch dry and hard ice.  While we were climbing the temps warmed up to -12.

Marco Delesalle

 Mountain Guide

www.greatdividemountaineering.com

www.internationalguidebureau.com

Judy-Melt out Jan 3/11

 

[MCR] Yoho NP, Guiness Gully / Field Ice

Headed over to Field today. The blue skies and temperature inversion
that seemed to be holding just east of the Divide did not prevail
west of the pass. Field was -20C at 8:30am under a low ceiling, and
never warmer than -17C.

From the road, most climbs in the valley look like they still have a
fair bit of room for improvement for "normal" January conditions.
Massey's looked quite skinny down low but otherwise in. (Access via
the river crossing didn't look quite doable yet, with enough open
water still visible to make it look not straightforward to connect
the frozen dots.) Overhead hazard notwithstanding, Pilsner and
Kronenberg seemed not yet in, but Carlsberg looked ripe.

Headed up Guiness with the prospect of brittle, cranky ice and
weren't disappointed. Sublimation during the recent cold temps has
left the first pitch looking anemic with much of the ice an aerated
veneer. Screws were short and/or in delaminating ice. As usual, ice
on the upper pitches improved in quality, but was mainly still
delicate with creaky hooks. Snow above and between the pitches was
30-50cm of decomposed sugar to ground with a few remnants of soft
slabs. Guiness Stout looked typically fat, and High Test also in.

Hopefully the forecasted warming trend over the next few days will
get some water moving again there and help regenerate things. Let the
healing begin.

Carl Johnston
RG, AAG

_______________________________________________
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] Valley of the Sun - Ghost River

Climbed the Valley of the Sun in the North Ghost today (Jan 3).
 
A frigid morning of -24 quickly turned into a pleasant, windless day with temperatures near -11.
 
The driving conditions into the North Ghost are a bit challenging at the moment. There has been a fair amount of drifting over the last few days, and the one tricky river crossing/ice shelf that is commonly difficult is in very tough shape. A high clearance vehicle is essential.
 
The climb itself is in pretty good shape. Some pitchs were a bit brittle and there are several spots where there is significant water running underneath the ice, but all were passable today. The five bolted stations in the lower 2/3 of the climb are still exposed and fairly easy to find. If you are heading in there it would be good to bring some cord or sling to replace some of the older material at the stations.
 
Have fun! 


Jeremy Mackenzie - ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
Kananaskis Country Public Safety

[MCR] Cascade

Climbed Cascade waterfall today on the Yamnuska multi-pitch "plus" day with two.
 
Temps were cold -20c at the car at 08:20 and remained cold during our entire climb.
At 10:30and in the sun, it was -14c at the top of the route. We registered  -8c at the car at 13:00.
We didn't get much wind on the route and no new transport was observed, the fetch for cascade is quite dry at the moment. There was however a bit of dust blowing over Rundle ridge.
 
A few things to note. The snow surface throughout the climb is reasonably hard. There is only a few inches of loose snow on ice or various firm surfaces including breakable crusts. Currently Any moving snow or large ice volumes would currently travel quite a distance! Something to think about if following another party or when considering avalanche issues.
 
The upper bowl looks rather uneven right now with more or less isolated pockets comprising the upper start zones.
 
Theses are the current conditions, any new snow and wind would quickly change things especially up high on the route!
 
The warming trend for the rest of the week is something else to consider on this climb! A sudden warming is never really good when it comes to steep snowy icy terrain.
 
Finally a client dropped a new BD fusion (green). If found please return to Yamnuska Mountain Adventures in exchange for good karma.
We spent some time looking for it on our descent without any luck. The center and climbers left lines were somewhat looked over.
 
Happy new year to all
 
Patrick Delaney
ACMG Alpine Guide
Yamnuska Mountain Adventures
403 688 6003 
 
 

 

[MCR] Rogans Gully, Banff National Park

Up the route on New Years Eve and found it to be in good condition. It is currently 3 pitches of climbing and 3 of walking. There's approximately 10-15cms of low density snow on top of old avalanche debris, making for fairly quick travel.

The chockstone below the last pitch requires two or three moves of M3ish climbing.

Happy New Year!

Mike Stuart
ACMG Alpine/Assistant Ski 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] Rockies-Evans Thomas Creek Ice climbs-January 2nd, 2010

Chantilly, Moonlight and Snowline are fat. Two Low for Zero is rock covered in depth hoar for the first 10m at least. Unpleasant climbing and no decent gear without a fat pin rack and maybe some small cams. I gently bailed off the old bolt at around 15m as the icy-looking groove above was just dirt for the first few metres.

I felt too young and too old to end my winter so early on such scruffy climbing:)

Larry Stanier
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain 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.