[MCR] Frisby Creek, Monashee Mountains, April 11-18, 2011

[Public Mountain Conditions Report]

Spent the last week guiding a ski camp with James Vickers in Frisby Creek.  We 
had cool temperatures and excellent mid-winter powder conditions all week 
with 75cm of new snow in camp (1500m) throughout the week and an estimated 
120-140cm of new snow in the alpine.  The most intense squall brought just over 
30cm in under four hours while we were on the uptrack and made for some epic 
mid-day skiing on Saturday!

Yesterday the skies cleared and daytime freezing levels rose to about 1800m.  As 
of this morning all solar aspects except for steeper due north facing terrain 
had some form of sun crust on it, however we still had excellent skiing in the 
trees down to 1500m on due N aspects.  Our warmest temperatures of the week 
occurred today as we flew out in the early afternoon.  Corn skiing still seemed 
to a few days away at this point but getting closer.

Our main avalanche concerns on N aspects were for slab avalanches within the 
recent storm snow on steep wind loaded terrain in the alpine or on steep convex 
rolls.  These layers were bonding well over the course of a day or two, however 
with all the new snow we stuck to well supported terrain throughout the week and 
minimized our exposure to large slopes and cornices. 

On S aspects we were concerned about daytime heating as well as the various 
buried sun crusts which continued to provide some large settlements.  We did not 
see any slab avalanches on S aspects but we treated them with a lot of caution 
sticking to moderate angled terrain with no exposure to larger slopes.
   
350cm+ of snow on the ground at 1500m and significantly more than this on the 
glaciers which allowed for good travel on the ice with little use of the rope, 
and excellent skiing on lines that have not been easily accessible for the past 
several years.  


A really fun week in a beautiful place for spring skiing!
Cheers, Conrad Janzen
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
View trip photos at www.banffmountainguides.com
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