The Waiparous Valley road approach to hydrophobia is in currently workable, but
deteriorating shape, with supportive ice (22+cm thick) on the creek crossing
and well compressed ruts (passable only in a high clearance vehicle) on the
hill leading to the bog.
That being said, temperatures were well above freezing for the past 24 hrs
(6degC @ 5pm today in the bog) and this is softening up all of the frozen and
semi frozen areas-- including the creek crossing. We managed to punch through
a semifrozen permafrost "skin" about 1/2 way across the bog this morning and
spent the next 5 hours digging, chaining, jacking, levering, and pulley'ing our
vehicle before eventually giving up and walking out to the forestry trunk road
where we were rescued by a friend who had driven out with another truck. Even
with the large second vehicle and chains on the first, the stuck truck was only
extracted with a considerable "running start."
So, I would recommend giving the Waiparous approach a miss until it has had a
solid spell of well below freezing weather (and no new snow, either). I think
the Waiparous is probably best approached with two or more vehicles-- we didn't
do that today and ended up with a 14 hour day of no-climbing, rather than an
extra hour of truck un-sticking on top of climbing.
Of note for those in the area: Single to no-bar service can be had from the
bog on Telus and Bell (enough for texts but not for calls) and good service can
be had from the hill directly to the north of the Waiparous Valley Rd / SR 940
junction.
Josh Briggs
Asst. Guide
_______________________________________________
These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The
ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in
continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable
nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information
provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions
Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field.
Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.
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