Back into Mt Sir Douglas near Burstall pass over the
past few days.
Clouds/smoke haze rolled in overnight Wed/Thurs and
there was no re-freeze on the glacier. At 3:30am the temp was +12C at
8000’ and it steadily warmed up after that. Rockfall was steady
throughout the night as the snow receded and foot penetration at the base of
the glacier was boot top to shin deep. The rockfall and the travel
conditions made us decide to pull the pin early and retreat to the viscous clouds
of mosquitoes closer to treeline.
Another note, there was evidence of a previous size 2
avalanche that was likely caused by serac fall onto the glacier. The
fracture line was close to 60-80cm deep with the glacier ice as a bed surface.
This avalanche crossed the typical descent route burying it with snow and large
chunks of ice. Its warm out there…
Mike Koppang
SG
Kananaskis Country Public Safety