Climbed R+D today. Very dense ice, hard to penetrate and easy to get picks
stuck if you weren't hooking. There is a wide variation of snow conditions
in that bowl, but one thing is very certain. All the avalanche terrain that
effects the approach and the routes in Ranger Ck has enough snowcover to
produce signifigant avalanches with the next big weather change.
This would apply equally to Parallel Falls, the Drip at the Centre of the
Universe, possibly French Ck.and probably most routes in avalanche terrain
along the Divide in Banff and Jasper.
I felt Ok in Ranger Ck. today but would have to think long and hard before I
would go back after any snowfall, rain or big warming. It is a great early
season climbing area that often sees upwards of 50 people a week before the
snows comes. It would, however, probably be a very bad habit to climb there
regularly all winter. In questionable stability, it is a nasty place, with
180 degrees of steep avalanche terrain, LOTS of wind effect, a junkshow
snowpack and no where to hide. An awfully committing place for one pitch of
grade 3.
We carried beacons, probe and shovel on the approach and it felt like the
right thing to do in that snow covered avalanche terrain
Larry Stanier
Mountain Guide
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