[MCR] Starbirds

Subject: [MCR] Starbirds
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2005 17:04:27 -0600
Gord, Nathan, Scott and I traversed from the Catamount Glacier to Welsh Creek Aug 12-15, with 3 peaks bagged along the way: Griffith, Harmon and Pk 9500.

Some hard showers the morning of Friday the 12th, giving way to clear skies that night and the rest of the trip. A skiff of snow on the peaks Friday morning melted away by lunchtime. A classic example of the high pressure building over BC and butting up against the Rockies, causing NW and SE flows to give the Rockies bad weather while the Columbias bask in the sun.

Good overnight freezes, with excellent travel in the morning trending to good in the afternoon, with the exception of crevassed areas right at the firn line (spooky thin and weak bridges with warming afternoon temperatures). Firn line about 8500 - 8800 ft.

18 years since my last visit to Welsh Creek, I had forgotten how rubbly it is to descend from the Alpha Centauri Col to the Centaurus Glacier. Big granite boulders perched on smooth slabs and unstable gravel, but only about 150 m of it. It's best to try to stay in the middle on the slabs, with a bit of a trend descender's left at the bottom to get off the slabs (fixed pin). Lower, in the moraines, it's again best to stay descender's left to gain the treed ridge which is taken to the lower lake.

What a beautiful and gentle little mountain range.

Mark

Mark Klassen
Mountain Guide
mark@xxxxxxxxxxxx
www.alpinism.com