| Climbed Louise Falls yesterday, April 22nd. It is huge and was in spring conditions. Melt/freeze 'corn' ice overlies the surface and I had to clear between 4 and 6 inches away to place screws and that was the most work on the climb -clearing away the corn ice to get screws. On the low angled ice I was cautious with my crampons shearing through the corn and I kicked steps, on the steeper stuff I was concerned with my tools rippiing out and got them deepish. Face shots with every placement (the corn ice tends to spray more than cold ice). I suspect that the route is locked up now (6am, April 23rd) as it is -7 C in Canmore as I type this, and that the corn ice will be dinnerplating until it thaws.
The walk off is icy, we did 1 30m rappel off of tree on the walk off to avoid most of the frontpointing down.
Happy trails, Barry Blanchard UIAGM/IFMGA Mountain Guide Yamnuska Mountain Adventures |
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