[MCR] Selkirks and Rockies

[Public Mountain Conditions Report]

The geographical area for this post is kinda broad but conditions are  
kinda the same.

The bottom line is that conditions continue to be touchy and  
dangerous with high consequences if an avalanche is triggered. If you  
golf, surf, rock climb, mountain bike, watch TV, read magazines or  
drink beer these all may be good options to skiing right now. Pull  
the boards back out when we have a big, fat melt freeze crust on the  
top of the snowpack.

If you are interested in specifics, read on:

The Assistant Ski Guide Exam started in Moberly Pass in the northern  
Selkirks on March 20. Over the next 4 days it snowed 20-30 cm. That,  
combined with mostly poor visibility  and 4 layers of surface hoar in  
the top meter of the snowpack had us pinned in the trees for a couple  
of days. March 23 was a bit better and some of us actually got onto a  
glacier but we had to tiptoe gently on the flattest pieces of terrain  
possible and away from overhead hazard. We can take a hint so we  
bailed on March 24 on the first sunny day we had, the sun of course  
starting to trigger avalanches to size 2.5 in the environs of the  
camp by 8 am.

We moved to the Rockies where we could access terrain that was broad,  
flat and away from the worst overhead hazard. Things were still  
touchy, with one avalanche triggered remotely from a ridge on  
Observation Peak, March 25. This avalanche was a size 2+, propagated  
a good 100 m, most probably on surface hoar. We were on relatively  
benign terrain but the avalanche ran on a 45+ degree unsupported  
slope, east aspect, 2350 m. It pulled back onto the low angle ridge  
for a meter or so. Other large avalanches were also observed that  
day, probably triggered by warm temperatures.

March 26-27 were spent between Bow and Peyto huts. There was  
continued evidence of instability in that region, with a size 2.5  
avalanche running off the Bow headwall and coming close to the  
uptrack sometime between 1300 on March 25 and 1200 on March 26. There  
were reports of skier triggered avalanches on the Diableret Glacier.

If you still want to go then choose low angle terrain away from  
overhead hazard, and make sure you have a very reasoned decision  
making process to commit to anything. This is no time to let desire  
get in the way of rationality.

Mark Klassen
Mountain Guide
www.alpinism.com


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