We base
camped on the Deville Neve from April 21-23. Generally clear skies, daytime highs below freezing and good
stability. The snowpack coverage
in the alpine is excellent. On a
ski ascent of the north glacier on Grand Mountain, there was a thinly bridged
schrund at about 10,000 ft. From
the ridge we could see that the descent off the north side of Sugarloaf to the
Sugarloaf-Grand col looks more broken than in past years. We skied roped up much of the
time. Despite the appearances of
even coverage, we were not willing to risk an unroped crevasse fall.
We
experienced some large whumphs, mainly on low angle or west facing
terrain. Aside from some afternoon
solar triggered avalanches, we observed very little avalanche activity over the
five days. We turned around near
the summit ridge on Mount Kilpatrick as there was a very easy shear down 30cm,
on a 45 degree slope.
The Deville
rappels are in good shape, two 50m ropes required. The first rappel off a two bolt station is easily found this
year. Rap almost a full 50m to a
two pin station under a good protective overhang. Climb up and across the gully to climber’s left to a red
sling on a piton with a two bolt station about 1 m below (may be buried if there
is new snow). With snow loaded in
the gully below, 25m gets you to steep snow, and 50m gets to the lower angle
snow slope. Boot crampons were
nice to have for the middle traverse pitch.
The climb
out of the basin on the moraine below Mount Fox to the Glacier Circle Hut was
near isothermal. I highly
recommend finishing the Deville Raps and the climb to the hut in the early
morning to minimize the avalanche danger.
From a camp below the NE ridge of Mount Wheeler on the Deville Neve, it
only took 20 minutes on April 24 to ski down to the Deville Headwall (4
km). We were happy that we started
early and finished early.
With a
light freeze (-2) at Glacier Circle Hut on April 25, we ascended the Witch
Tower route to the Illecillewaet Neve.
With ski crampons we were able to ski up 2/3 of the slope before boot
hiking up the last steep slope, on the climber’s left. There was 10-30 cm of new snow loaded
onto the slope, forming a soft slab on top of a melt-freeze crust that our
boots mostly punched through. With
a forecast for more wind and precipitation, it felt like a good time to get
back to Rogers Pass. Stability in
the afternoon, or after any more significant wind and new snow or rain, will be
poor on the Witch Tower exit. The
exit out of Glacier Circle into the Beaver Valley looks like it is fully
isothermal, and in many places there will be no snow.
Crossing
the Illecillewaet Neve to Rogers Pass was excellent until we got off the
glacier. The descent from below
the ice to valley bottom was near isothermal and it was sporty water-skiing
with big packs. Down the creek and
out on the Great Glacier trail was in good condition. 8 hours from the Hut to the highway.
The Glacier
Circle Hut underwent a major renovation last summer, and it is presently in
excellent condition.
Just a
reminder to purchase a Park entry pass, Wilderness Camping Permit, and book the
Glacier Circle Cabin through Glacier National Park prior to your trip. We encountered one party that had
neglected to purchase camping permits.
Failure to purchase these permits and book the cabin may result in
fines, court appearance, or sleeping outside a warm cabin that has been booked
by other parties!
In short,
it is an excellent time to be up high, and conditions down low are in poor
shape for ski travel. Have fun!
Jordy
Shepherd
Mountain
Guide
Park Warden