[MCR] Rockies: Wapta - Bow and Peyto Huts and Mt Rhondda

[Public Mountain Conditions Report]

Got out yesterday from a few days checking out the Wapta and Bow Summit.

Bow Summit Sunday Jan 11, 2015: Upwards of 70 people in the area. Found a
predominantly shallow snow pack of around 70 to 90 cm. Extensive surface
hoar from 5 to 10mm was noted on the surface at Treeline and Below. Didn¹t
venture into the alpine. Easy to moderate sudden planar results on the
December 18 layer. Got a rutschblock 4 whole block in a sheltered location
near treeline on the December 18 layer down about 45cm.

Bow Lake to Bow Hut / Mt Rhondda / Peyto Hut / Return to Bow and exit to Bow
Lake Jan 12 ­ 15, 2015:

Lots of traffic going up to Bow Hut on Jan 12. Trail is pretty well beaten
but large open holes with water still lurking. Exiting the canyon to gain
the trees can be interesting and not as easy as normal. Surface sluffing in
the canyon likely several days prior to our ascent did not trigger any
deeper weaknesses. Lots of tracks going in odd places and many folks not
taking standard avalanche precautions made me scratch my head given that the
hazard was rated as considerable/ considerable/moderate. Lots of surface
hoar evident on the surface at treeline and below. Once in the open recent
winds have been blowing the surface hoar away. It is likely still lurking in
sheltered locations in the alpine and at treeline. This will be on my radar
when we get the next snowfall. Spent over an hour shoveling out the front
steps at Bow Hut. Changed both outhouse barrels with Kenji, Randy and one of
Kenji¹s friends. Strong work lads! Would be helpful if folks changed the
barrels before the frozen tower of poo gets so high that it is problematic
moving the barrel!!! Moderate winds with occasional strong gusts persisted
all night.

Skied up Rhondda on Jan 13 on the way from Bow to Peyto Hut. Extensive wind
affect made for easy trail breaking on the traverse with between 0cm and
10cm of ski penetration in breakable crust. I was not confident enough in
the early season snowpack and limited information to travel unroped while
ascending and traversing the glaciers. The final steep slope to gain the S
ridge of Rhondda was a combination of rock hard slab and variable windcrust.
Took full precautions on the ascent and descent. Moderate W winds at
ridgetop all but obliterated any recent tracks in this area.

>From our vantage point on Rhondda looking over toward Mt. Collie we noted
extensive open crevasses and large sags everywhere on the normal travel
routes. It did not look at all inviting.

Noted a Size 1.5 slab release of unknown age (last 48hours?) in steep S
facing terrain on Mt. Thompson. Looks like it may have been cornice
triggered prior to Jan 12.

Ski descent to Peyto hut was predominantly breakable windcrust with
occasional pockets of softer snow that didn¹t last long enough to be
enjoyable. The closer toward Mt. Thompson we went the better the snow
quality (as is often the case here) but I would rate the ski quality as fair
to poor. Had another hour of shoveling at Peyto to clear the doorway and
find the hut shovel buried under a foot of snow and ice at the base of the
stairs. The latch on the door is broken and snow had blown in to the boot
room. I improvised a solution with an eye hook found in the hut to lash the
door closed until repairs can be made. It should be obvious how to
accomplish this when you are there.

Looking down at the Peyto Glacier from the hut there are still lots of areas
of bare ice and sags which could be problematic if you were at all off route
or worse yet, unroped. Still looks like an early season shallow snowpack in
that direction.

Stayed roped for most of the return journey from Peyto to Bow Hut. Extensive
probing over the three days gave results from 130 to 180cm with 150cm being
fairly typical. A group who attempted St. Nicholas reported probing snow
depths as shallow as 70cm. Sounds like they were also cautious with regard
to glacier travel precautions in this young snowpack. They noted at least
one large crevasse on what would be the more normal route to St. Nicholas.
They commented that the closer to St. Nicholas you went on the approach the
more crevassed the area appeared.

We noted a large open crevasse near the lowest point between Rhondda and
Thompson. A group making an attempt on Mt. Gordon turned back but we never
met up with them to discuss why??

On the ski out from Peyto to Bow Hut then Bow Lake on Jan 14 we had moderate
W winds that made the minus 5 temperatures seem colder. The tracks we made
Jan 13 had disappeared overnight. The steeper slopes leading down to Bow hut
were more breakable and wind affected than the slopes closer to the Onion
which provided uninspiring but perfectly manageable turns. The temperatures
ranged from minus 5 to minus 16 during the three days but warmer
temperatures were evident descending the canyon and crossing the lake.
Several Size 1 loose avalanches were noted on steep south facing terrain. A
Size 1.5 loose avalanche was noted at 13:30 in a steep S facing feature.
Adjacent slopes had snowballing evident suggesting the surface snow was
moist. Some S and W slopes may now have a sun crust for your skiing
enjoyment...

Cyril Shokoples
ACMG MG / IFMGA
Rescue Dynamics

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