[MCR] Rockies, Louise Falls

[Public Mountain Conditions Report]

I guided an ascent of Louise Falls today, Dec 7th. The route is about as hard as it gets right now and is sporting some death daggers. We found a sheltered ground level belay in an alcove in the middle of the first wall. The first snow ledge is a nervous place to be right now and I stretched our 60 metre rope to gain a rappel tree belay on the left via some mixed frozen turf climbing. Our belay was safe and out of the fall zone of the daggers, but it was spicy regaining the ice (probably easier to step down there and across rather than up and across). The pillar is in WI 5 shape right now and climbs well with a chimney rest against a curtain at the top. Be delicate pulling onto the upper snow ledge as there are horizontal fractures and curtains left and right that could shear. Above the upper snow ledge was Louise as usual. We walked off.

Happy trails,

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


-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: P1040045.jpeg
Type: image/jpg
Size: 140558 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : <http://six.pairlist.net/pipermail/mcr/attachments/20121207/2afd9254/attachment-0002.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------


Louise Falls Dec 7th. Our first belay was under the exposed rock in the middle of the first wall.

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: P1040039.jpeg
Type: image/jpg
Size: 98068 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : <http://six.pairlist.net/pipermail/mcr/attachments/20121207/2afd9254/attachment-0003.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------


Death daggers.