To see another side of the mountain , I skied up from the ski hill along the
southerly ridge and flank
today. It was -5 at 1450 m at 1230 and -9 at 2350 m at 1415. This is a very
windy area and the surface
showed everything from raincrust to hard windslab to rimed rock. The sastrugi
became 30 cm high and
covered with hard rime above 2300 m, making for very poor travel conditions.
The cornices seem relatively small and Big Simpson's is dry and bony. A recent
cornice fall above Crater
Lake triggered a 2.5 slab with a fracture line 50 m wide and about 20 cm high.
Two other smaller slabs
released in the same steep unskiable east facing terrain at 2100 m. Those slabs
may have been so thin
because this steep flank slides frequently. However, the debris piles were
still good sized.
I experienced no whumpfs and settelments, but was not breaking trail most of
the way. The winds were
moderate from the NE at the ridgetop.
Skiing quality was fair to good below the rimed sastrugi zone on facetting
wind-packed snow.
--
Christoph Dietzfelbinger, Mountain Guide
Bear Mountaineering and the Burnie Glacier Chalet
Box 4222 Smithers B.C. Canada V0J 2N0
info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx www.bearmountaineering.ca
tel. 250-847-3351 fax 250-847-2854
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