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ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary for the Rockies
and Columbia Mountains issued May 1st, 2008.
This is the first Mountain Conditions Summary
for 2008. Last week, the Canadian Avalanche Centre issued its last
regular avalanche bulletin for the season, though they could still produce a
special bulletin in the event of unusual conditions. The Mountain National Parks
are still producing excellent avalanche bulletins, please reference them if you
are planning on skiing or climbing in those areas. Please be aware, this summary
is being produced at a time when there are relatively few Mountain Guides
active in the mountains and many operations concerned with avalanche hazard
management are shutting down for the season. We will do the best we can to
provide a clear picture of what we know is happening in the mountains, but
spring is always a period of dynamic change in the snow and we have very few
eyes on the ground to observe with in the next few
weeks.
I can't imagine it is a suprise to anyone to hear
me say that winter still rules in the mountains.
There is still over 100cms of settled snow on the
ground at Bow Summit and at the Rogers Pass. The long days, more intense radiation and supposedly warmer temperatures
of spring are only slowly starting to effect the snowpack in most
places. From all reports from the Rockies and the Columbias I get the
impression that we are still a long way away from what I would consider a
"normal"spring snowpack. Below treeline the snow has probably gone through
enough melt freeze cycles to have gained some strength when it is cold. However,
at treeline and in the alpine, even south faces have probably not lost their
deep weak layers. Especially on north facing terrain and in the alpine, any
daytime warming is being added to a still wintery snowpack with some
signifigant, persistent weak layers. I suspect there is still
lots of potential for LARGE slab avalanches in the foreseeable future,
especially if we ever get some HOT, HIGH RADIATION spring
weather.
Alpine climbing is probably possible if you have a
spell of settled weather and some cold temperatures. Be VERY choosy if you
are looking for alpine climbing in the near future and don't be caught anywhere
in avalanche terrain when things start to warm up. Again, the snow
is almost more like March than May right now. The problem with this
"March" snowpack is that it has the potential for producing big, nasty
avalanches when the springtime heat is added to it. LOTS of full-size cornices
still hanging around the ridges and a winters worth of freshly frost shattered
rock to be clobbered with. Hmm, doesn't all that sound appealling?
Rockclimbing in the region still seems to
be limited to valley bottom east slope crags such as the Canmore area,
Spillimacheen and Begbie. South facing cliffs like Yamnuska are drying off in a
day or two after each snowfall, but there is still lots of snow on the
north faces and in gullies.
Skiis and quickdraws seem to be the most
appropriate tools for recreation right now, but there is still some melting ice
around for the desperate.
Good luck and be patient. It has to get nice
eventually, doesn't it?
Larry Stanier
Mountain Guide
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