[MCR] Columbia Icefields, May 10-16, 2009

Spent the last 7 days enjoying the peaks of the Columbia Icefields with Terry Palechuck and a group from TRU.  We were able to climb North Twin, Stuttfield, Kitchner and Snowdome but got turned around on the E ridge of Columbia due to weather and wind loaded snow. 

 

We had pretty wintery conditions with temperatures between -1 and -10'C throughout the trip and about 30-40cm of new snow during the middle of the week.  Winds were moderate to strong out of the W over the past several days and I would be quite cautious of wind loaded slopes in this area over the next little while until things settle out a bit.  We did not see much for recent avalanche activity but had very limited visibility throughout the week.  Good snow coverage up high on the icefields and still waiting for spring above 2700m.

 

We entered and exited via the climbers left route on the Athabasca Glacier and this worked well although it also had some fresh serac activity just above the track this morning as we left.  It still felt a little less threatening than the right hand approach.  Good corn skiing down the Athabasca to the car!

 

Cheers, Conrad Janzen
IFMGA Mountain Guide
www.conradjanzenguiding.com

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