[MCR] Whistler - Spearhead Traverse

Out for a tour on the Spearhead traverse today. In general there is  2-3 m of snow on the glaciers and quite good coverage for this time of year. However there are a few things to watch out for. Even though the glaciers have more snow than normal the crevasses are much more prevalent than normal.  There are WAY more crevasses on all the glaciers than the same time last year, and last year there was almost half the snow!

We got caught on the Iago Glacier in poor to non existent visibility and our pace went from very quick to a snails pace in only a few minutes. We ended up roping up (almost never do on this trip) three separate times because of the crevasses and poor visibility.

Here are a few observations from our trip:

-In general many sags on all glaciers.

-Decker glacier has some big crevasses open near the top this year.

-Spearhead glacier has some really big crevasses open on the skiers right side.

-The short cut up to the east to Tremor from Paterson is non existent due to crevasses.

-Travel up to Iago up the Iago glacier is quite difficult in poor visibility due to large crevasses and variable snow coverage in this area. Snow depth here ranged from 1m to 3m+.

-Diavlo Gl has a few more crevasses than normal.

-The cornices above the traverse from Fitzimmons to Overlord are very overhanging and fragile looking.  As well there are a few    crevasses in this area.

-A  few larger than normal crevasses on the traverse from Overlord to Whirlwind peak

-The singing pass trail is in fairly good condition, but there are a few trees down in the Oboe creek area.

We were quite happy to have a rope and crevasse rescue gear and the knowledge of how to use it today. Stuff really doesn't look the same out there this year! It is a good idea to plan you trip with some extra time to navigate through tough spots and maybe to wait for really good visibility when traveling on any glaciers this winter.

Craig McGee, Mountain Guide

craigskibum@xxxxxxxxx

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Cheers,
John Furneaux

ACMG/IFMGA
Mountain Guide

604.892.4689

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