[MCR] Rockies - Observation Peak - Avalanche

Two of us guide types decided to go out and see how things were looking with the recent heat wave. We went to the south ridge of the Observation Peak sub-peak and started up the slopes that lie above the drainage that separates that mountain from Cirque Peak.

After negotiating some steep but short open slopes in the trees we decided to head for a safe ridge to detour around the larger open slopes above even though they weren't very steep and there were some features that we could have tried to work to avoid the more open terrain. The detour was a good idea, from a low-angled spot with little overhead hazard we had a whumpf and triggered a size 2 slab that fractured 300 m upslope from us. The terrain directed the flow away from us but it was still a bit of a heart-stopping moment. 

The avalanche occurred at 11.15 am in a 30-35 degree cross-winded shallow gully on a south aspect at about 2475 m. Temperature was -2.5 but the solar radiation was strong enough that I was wishing I hadn't put on my long johns this morning. The fracture line averaged about 35 cm deep, I'm not sure what layer it failed on, probably January 26.

Another group that witnessed the event from the valley below continued up and ascended the steep moraines and glacier on the north side of Cirque Peak, and then climbed the sunny west facing slopes to the summit; assuming more risk than we were willing to both before and certainly after our avalanche.

Mark Klassen
Mountain Guide

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