[MCR] Avalanche activity Connaught Creek etc

[Public Mountain Conditions Report]

I hate to keep posting about the same area but enough changed over a period of a few days I thought I should send something out.

For those of you keeping track of avalanche activity in Rogers Pass here is what I saw Dec 17 in Connaught Creek, these avalanches would have occurred Dec 15/16 overnight and into the day (realize that things have changed again overnight and today, but this will give an idea of recent frequency and magnitude on these paths):

- Grizzly Path: size 2, debris in the gut well above the fan, it might have come from the sidewall by Teddy Bear trees

- Initial Cheops paths: a couple small size 2s to bottom of fan

- Frequent Flyer: small size 2 over uptrack

- Cheops N Bowl: size 2 out of moraines to bottom of fan; size 2.5 out of cliffs lookers right and over waterfall to valley bottom

- STS: size 3, came up to the trim line on other side of the valley, took out the uptrack, turned the corner and made it to below N Bowl. Start zone completely refilled.

- Hospital Bowl: debris in the gully below Hospital Knob, looked like maybe the upper crossloaded ridge above went (which would make it a size 2) or possible from higher on Video Peak (which would make it a size 3)

Travel and skiing was significantly better as the storm snow gained a lot of strength in the previous 48 hrs. But that meant that the December 8 surface hoar buried 50-70 cm is now reactive to tests at 1600 m and 1950 m with critical results from compression, extended column and propagation saw tests. The storm snow shear had disappeared and soft windslabs were unreactive to ski testing in the areas we tested - doesn't mean they aren't elsewhere. Skiers in open areas of Ursus Trees and on the Hourglass fan did not trigger avalanches.

Mark Klassen
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
Banff-Lake Louise, Canada

voice-text/ 403.762.3540
email/ mark at alpinism.com
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