From mcr at informalex.org Tue Oct 27 01:44:48 2009 From: mcr at informalex.org (Public Mountain Conditions Report) Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:44:48 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [MCR] Ranger Creek Ice Climbs, October 26,2009 Message-ID: <327352.3627.qm@web112511.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Had a fun time climbing some early season ice in Ranger Creek today with Tom Wolfe.? Both the L & R lines on the 'Chalice' are in?good shape in the 4/4+ range.? 'R&D' is also back in good shape.? 'Lone Ranger' has melted out a fair bit and looked?quite thin?but climbable.? 5cm of new snow when we left but in general not enough snow for any avalanche hazard yet. ? Most other routes we could see from the drive in?were reforming after last weeks warm weather but will need more time to be in climbing shape. ? Cheers, Conrad Janzen ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide www.conradjanzenguiding.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mcr at informalex.org Wed Oct 28 19:33:19 2009 From: mcr at informalex.org (Public Mountain Conditions Report) Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:33:19 -0700 Subject: [MCR] Ranger Creek condiitons update Message-ID: Out for a fine day in Ranger Creek today and climbed Chalice. It was-7c at the base of the route at 09:00 things felt cold and quiet. >From the top of our route, we noticed a few signs of surface instability in the form of day old sloughs and small avalanches, one was likely triggered by an animal near the top of one of the right hand gullies as you walk up valley. Once up high looking out the valley there are lots of signs that wind has done its thing. The big picture is yes the ice is good both on R&D and Chalice. The reality is that this area is starting to smooth over nicely with at least 60cm in areas and even more I am sure up high or in loaded pockets. Currently there is likely enough snow for avalanches. In particular I noticed small low angle benches and rock slabs in and around some of the mixed terrain close to RND that looked well loaded. Are line of descent followed a smooth hard surface of snow that leads all the way down to the gully so there are some hard running surfaces available for snow to run on. More snow and wind in Ranger Creek will really change the current game. It?s unfortunately a big place for some short popular routes! Anyways, Old man winter is getting ready! CheersPatrick Delaney ACMG Alpine Guide 403 688 6003 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mcr at informalex.org Fri Oct 30 19:00:20 2009 From: mcr at informalex.org (Public Mountain Conditions Report) Date: 30 Oct 2009 23:00:20 -0000 Subject: [MCR] ACMG Mountain Conditions Report Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued October 29, 2009 Message-ID: <20091030230020.77324.qmail@udumti.pair.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mcr at informalex.org Sat Oct 31 20:15:53 2009 From: mcr at informalex.org (Public Mountain Conditions Report) Date: Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:15:53 -0600 Subject: [MCR] Bow Summit Avalanche Involvement Message-ID: Oct 31 There was an avalanche involvement at Bow Summit today. We only have an account from the two people who were involved, and no further information. The terrain feature that avalanched was described as the big couloir/gulley above the bench at Bow Summit. They were boot packing up the middle of the main feature and 75% of the way up, when it fractured 20 metres above them. Both skiers rode for what they described as top to bottom, or around 250 metres. Both were partially buried and thrown to the very tip of the debris pile. They were quite uncertain exactly how big this avalanche was, or to what kind of layer it slid on. Both had minor injuries, self extricated and self transported to Banff. They described being ground over rocks and surface terrain features that can be expected so early in the season. Despite the magnitude of the length of ride, they were very lucky. Parks Canada staff will be investigating further tomorrow. That is the extent of the information available for now, but winter and its associated hazards are here in the Rockies. Aaron Beardmore Specialist, Mountain Safety Programs Banff, Yoho, and Kootenay Parks Box 900, Banff, AB T1L 1K2 Ph: 403-762-1415 From mcr at informalex.org Sun Nov 1 11:05:48 2009 From: mcr at informalex.org (Public Mountain Conditions Report) Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 08:05:48 -0800 (PST) Subject: [MCR] Older post for Ranger Creek area In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <969350.83491.qm@web51909.mail.re2.yahoo.com> >From John Freeman: Earlier observations about Ranger creek by Pat Delaney were very accurate. James Madden and myself ventured into the area yesterday (October 29th). Near the end of our day wind transport from the SW increased to extreme levels. With a large fetch the slopes overloaded quickly (1 hr) above Lone Ranger and triggered a size 1 avalanche that ripped down the route carrying with it considerable ice. On the walk out all slopes triggered easy when crossed. A second slide was witnessed by other climbers in the area. The area is volatile at the moment and is best avoided until things change. Being in any terrain trap would have a predictable outcome. Excitement over early season climbing can lead even experienced climbers into unsafe situations. Despite hearing reports of many people climbing ice routes it is still critical to assess conditions for the day. Conditions above a climb can be dramatically different from those on the approach. Climb safe and have fun John Freeman AAG From mcr at informalex.org Sun Nov 1 09:39:09 2009 From: mcr at informalex.org (Public Mountain Conditions Report) Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 08:39:09 -0600 Subject: [MCR] Bow Hut Message-ID: <8b2677980911010639q60772c53x3226dee4c8e2741b@mail.gmail.com> Hello Everyone, I spent 2 nights at Bow Hut over October 28-30th. Temperatures remained relatively cool at 1800 metres all the way up to the elevation of Bow Hut in -5.0 - 8.0 C range on the 28th and 29th. The snow depths became appreciable at about 2200 metres. On the glacier, we found an average snowpack depth of 65 centimetres and made for very heavy sledding (difficult travel). The most notoble 2 observations were the strong winds overnight on the 29th and then the subsequent rise in freezing levels (0 C at Bow Hut) rapidly changing the conditions, causing me to become concerned with the steep slopes on the moraine below the hut. As expected, cracking and some small settlements were observed. Simple hand sheers yielded easy results down 35 and 45 cm's. A melt-freeze crust exists in the lower snowpack and weak grained facets below this crust are on the ground. An avalanche involvement at Bow Summit yesterday that resulted in a big ride for 2 people was not a surprise for me given my recent observations. The strong winds have caused a serious uneven distribution of an early season snowpack that has weak basal layers that won't provide much of a foundation for the cohesive slab resting on top of it. It has been quite warm and the conditions are not great for recreating right now. Be patient and save your energy when conditions improve. For those folks swinging and clinging (ice climbing), I would suggest you crane your neck back and look way, way up and think about not only the slopes you're traveling on, but the real estate above your objective. My biggest concerns with respect to terrain features would be exposed features in the immediate lee of the wind and cross-wind affected features at treeline and especially in the alpine where the most snow can be found and has been redistributed by the wind. Keep it Tight, -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mcr at informalex.org Sun Nov 1 11:13:18 2009 From: mcr at informalex.org (Public Mountain Conditions Report) Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 08:13:18 -0800 Subject: [MCR] Selkirk Mountains, Roger's Pass, Connaught Drainage, Oct 30, 2009 Message-ID: <1271EF07-342C-479B-BB0F-4FC6C19FEC37@gmail.com> I was out for an adventure stroll yesterday up towards the Balu Headwall in Rogers Pass. We were able to travel on skis from the hotel but still coverage is minimal over the rocks. Temps started off slightly below freezing but that all changed around 1130 @ 1800m when they jumped up to +1 and the snow turned to rain. Travel on the trail (compacted old tracks) was OK but any venture off trail resulted in ground strikes in the unconsolidated snow. We continued up to Balu pass (2070m). On our way up the final headwall, we avoided the convex rolls as we were getting easy handshears in the top 10cm & 30cm. On our way down the turns were more like survival tactics, as each bump in the snow held fears of the season ending rock. Needless to say we made more zigzags than actual figure eights, The total snow depth varied from 30-50cm @ 1900m. to 50-60cm at the pass. The snowpack was unconsolidated and upside down (meaning denser snow over less dense snow), 1Finger resistance in the top 20cms. and 4Finger resistance below that to ground. Occasional wind drift pockets were approximately 1m deep. The recent snowfall totaled 10-15cm, with the top 10 becoming moist with the temp & rain. The ground features were approx 50% covered, so total snow depth appears to have reached threshold for avalanching in steeper terrain. On the way out we witnessed one large spindrift (loose) avalanche fall off some cliffs and 1 size 1.5 wet avalanche (see pic 2) on a N aspect. I would suspect a combination of wind (constant 10-30 knots from the West) and rising temperatures as the trigger. We observed another recent size 1.5 on the same slide path - both stopped before they reached the valley bottom (mid runout). The drainage was quite busy with early season explorers - we counted 9 people in 4 separate parties. Everybody had turned around at the headwall when they had encountered the coastal like conditions. Dave Healey ACMG Assistant Ski Guide -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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Ski Ya, Paddy Jerome ACMG IFMGA Mountain Guide #205-176 Kananaskis Way Canmore, Alberta T1W 3E4 Canada (H)403-609-4429 (C)403-609-0795 www.yamnuska.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: