[MCR] Rockies, Mt Assiniboine

[Public Mountain Conditions Report]

Hell and heaven on Mt Assiniboine Northeast Ridge this week. We flew  
into Assiniboine lodge on Sunday, Sept 26th, and approached the Hind  
Hut. Moderate west winds greeted us at the end of the Gmoser highway  
and badgered us up to the hut. We noted a size 1 slab avalanche of  
newer than 48 hours? out from just above the bergshrund to the  
climber's left side of the ridge.

Sept 27th we made a hellish attempt in constant mod-strong west  
winds. Amazing clouds forming and turbining in the lee of the east  
face, so cool to actually see how the wind works given the dramatic  
painting  out of the clouds. We had boot top penetration in firm mash  
potato snow that went to dryish winter snow with altitude. We put on  
crampons after a couple of hundred meters of ascent. Verglas had been  
rimed onto the holds of the Red Band, as well as the next band higher  
up -the Gold Band. The climbing was difficult given the slickness of  
the holds, and the gale force gusts that threatened to slap us off of  
them. It took me an hour to lead a pitch that usually only takes  
10minutes! We bailed and made it back to the hut after being gone  
from it for 12 hours.

That night the winds continued and in the wee hours rain began  
hammering. The morning of the 28th revealed a size 2 avalanche that  
ran to the ice surface from a steep couloir climber's right of the  
North Face Couloir. A second wet snow avalanche ran as we watched. We  
suspected water saturating the snow and cutting the bond with the  
ice. We descended to the Naisett Cabins in the rain. It appeared to  
rain right to the summit of Assiniboine.

My fellow Mountain Guide, Sepp Renner, treated us royally at  
Assiniboine Lodge and suggested that we extend our trip as the  
weather was clearing and cooling off and, given the saturated  
snowpack, the conditions could be really good once it froze.

Sept 29th saw us back at the Hind Hut in the fine company of my  
fellow Mountain Guide, Jen Olson, and her quest.

Sept 30th we walked away at 05:30 on top of cement like frozen snow,  
right beside our boot deep postholes of a couple days before. We put  
on crampons at the final steeping of the approach morraine and  
enjoyed pretty much perfect cramponing up to the Red Band. The  
verglas had been washed off of the Gold Band and I was up it in 10  
minutes. The snow became more crusty and winter like on the upper  
mountain with 30-50 cms sitting on the ridgecrest. We crunched onto  
the summit at 12:30 ... perfectly calm, not a cloud in the sky. The  
visibility was incredibly clear with no dust or smoke for hundreds of  
miles, not a breath of wind and warm sunshine.

Our descent was made via a series of North Face rappels starting at  
the low end of the 'walkable' summit ridge. At the top of the Red  
Band we traversed, on rappel, 20 meters east to the normal NE ridge  
rappel line. We got back to the hut at 18:00 and descended the Gmoser  
Highway this morning, Oct 1. Some overnight verglas on the edges of  
the waterfalls.

Thanks so much to the Renners and their warm hospitality.

Happy trails,

Barry Blanchard
Mountain Guide
www.barryblanchard.ca
www.yamnuska.com




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Sept 27th

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Sept 30

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Oct 1