[MCR] Wapta Icefields Traverse March 5-9, 2006

Completed a Peyto Lake to Sherbrook Lake trip on the Wapta Icefields on Thursday March 9th. 

 

Going in to the Peyto hut we used the moraine approach instead of the canyon.  This required some careful skinning and boot packing but was easy traveling and avoided more of the avalanche hazard.

 

Snow coverage on the glaciers in general was quite good, more than 250cm where ever I probed.  We roped up for travel in a number of known crevasse areas, based on summer experience in the area.

 

Going up to the Balfour high col we climbed up the moraines from Balfour Pass onto the glacier to avoid the steep slopes of the lower  more direct route, and then at about 8350 ft contoured into the lower left hand route to avoid the serac hazard of the upper bench.   This worked very well for us given the conditions.  The c revasses on the way up the ramp were well covered making for good travel on the far left next to the rock, but caution is advised as the serac chunks from above make their way all the way to ski line!!!

 

Ski penetration in general was between 15-45cm depending on wind effect. 

 

Good skiing on the way out to Sherbrooke Lake with 20-30cm of new snow at treeline.

 

While we had limited observations due to poor visibility, we did have very strong SW winds and approx 30-40 cm of new snow in the past three days.  This has formed a lot of wind slabs in the alpine and at treeline of variable depth and hardness.  Several natural avalanches up to size 2 came out of steep N aspects.  We were choosing gentle/conservative terrain to travel in the alpine and at treeline.   < /DIV>

 

Great trip overall!,

Conrad Janzen

ACMG Ski Guide & Asst. Alpine Guide

A person should have wings to carry them where their dreams go, but sometimes a pair of skis makes a good substitute. -Hans Gmoser-

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