[MCR] Rockies -- Columbia Icefields

[Public Mountain Conditions Report]

Yamnuska had groups on Athabasca, A2 and Boundary Peak today. 

The great, mild weather of the last few days began to give way last night. After the 3 days of clear skies, light winds, and warm temps (~10C/-5C), last night we experienced a poor freeze (5C valley bottom @0330), some fresh precip (rain to 2400m, few cms above) with occasional moderate winds. This morning, conditions were overcast, calm and intermittently foggy with a temp of -2C at 2900m and little precipitation. 

Despite the recent dry weather and snow-free conditions to 2400m, above we found 30-60cms of recent snow on the glacier with total snow depths over 1m in the flats below the Silverhorn, and had to spend a bit of time ploughing a fresh track to just below the bergshrund. The snowpack there consisted of a few cms of new snow over a series of crusts and facets on the ice, and it was beginning to feel like we’d left behind the summer snowpack. A widespread resistant shear 30cm down gave us some concerns about stability on steeper slopes. With conditions higher up looking even more wintry, continuing unsettled weather and slow-going travel, we decided to give both the Silverhorn and Ramp routes a miss. 

There are still some thinly-bridged big holes to be found on the north glacier, but many of the small-medium slots I had to manoeuver around a few weeks ago are now covered and were supportive to travel. Conditions on A2 and Boundary were less snowy (20-40cm foot penetration) and the upper Boundary Glacier from the Boundary Col to the A2 col was quite well-filled in. Other than the track setting being a bit laborious, access to A2 was very straightforward. 

By mid-afternoon, precip had ended, winds were still only calm to light, and our groups headed out tomorrow were busy refreshing avalanche rescue skills.

Carl Johnston
ACMG Alpine & Rock Guide
Yamnuska Mountain Adventures <http://yamnuska.com/>
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