[MCR] Rockies, French Reality, The Silver Lining, Tokumm Pole

[Public Mountain Conditions Report]

I guided and attempt on French Reality on April 15th. We took snow shoes to the flats below the shoulder access to the traverse ledge, but the crust underlying the 10 to 20 centimetres of new snow was supportive and we could have probably got by without them (We walked down to the car at the end of the day without the snowshoes and had no post holing). There is a gully around to the north of the described approach in Waterfall Ice that works well now that the forest has changed with the 2003 burns. The gully is about 100 metres around to the north. We cramponed up there on the hard supportive crust. There was the occasional wind slab while crossing the approach ledge but the snow is bonding well and the hazard was low. The route was in good shape up to the last (crux) pitch of ice that started with a very serious pillar that was cracked across its bread loaf sized footing. We gave it a miss and it looked to my naked eye today from the 93 highway to have fallen off (binoculars will tell).

April 16th we attempted The Silver Lining under beautiful blue skies and calm to no wind. A strong supportive crust allowed us to walk on top pretty much everywhere once we stepped out of snow shoes and skis and the crust hung in there all day. We found a lot of detached ice that felt too serious and opted for the rock variations described in Waterfall Ice, and used on the first ascent (note that there is no option to the dry tooling and thin and detached ice of the first pitch, but there was patches of attached ice there that took 10 and 13 cm screws). Time slipped through our fingers between attempting the thin ice of the second pitch then opting for the rock, we bailed from the cave at the end of the second pitch.

April 17th I guide on the Tokumm Pole. There is only 15 metres of floor left on the creek and the bottom right side of the climb has been undercut by water and fallen away leaving a 2 metre roof. 
We climbed on the left which is hanging in there well, but does have water running behind it at its top. More supportive day long crusts.

Happy Trails,

Barry Blanchard
Mountain Guide
Yamnuska Mountain Adventures

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