[MCR] Sirmilik National Park, Pond Inlet, Baffin Island, Nunavut Dec 1-5

[Public Mountain Conditions Report]

I was in Pond Inlet, Baffin Island, Nunavut last week (Dec 1-5).  The
weather has been unseasonably warm in the Arctic, with the sea ice only just
forming within the past couple weeks to allow safe travel.  We received
about 25 cm of low density snow in the 5 day period, with variable winds
from calm to moderate, SW and W.

We travelled with Inuit by snowmobile for an overnight trip, across Eclipse
Sound to Bylot Island, spending a night on the edge of Sirmilik National
Park.  The weather was quite good on the overnight trip, with temperatures
between -15 and -25 deg C, and generally calm wind.  This time of year,
there is no direct sunlight at this latitude, with only dusk/dawn conditions
from about 10:30am to 2:pm.

We didn't travel into any avalanche terrain.  Windward slopes are stripped
pretty bare, with the main concern being slab formation on lee N and E
aspects.  Visibility was limited due to some low cloud/light snow and
limited daylight.

I am presently in Arctic Bay, a Nunavut community to the west of Pond
Inlet.  The temperature has dropped to a constant -30 deg C and the sky is
totally clear.

Jordy Shepherd
Mountain Guide
www.PeakAlpine.com <http://www.peakalpine.com/>
jordy at peakalpine.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://six.pairlist.net/pipermail/mcr/attachments/20101208/f6f91cc4/attachment.htm>