Today a friend & I climbed Mt. Hector to about 3100m (below the final
steep section where the crags start) and turned back mainly out of
concern for avalanche hazard on the steep upper pitches.
The snowpack in this area is as scary as reported elsewhere in the
Rockies and Hector cannot be recommended as a destination now or in
the foreseeable future. On non-solar slopes 20-40cm of wind affected
storm snow overlies a windcrust which overlies weak, large facet
crystals. We experienced frequent whoomfing and shooting cracks
between treeline at 2200m and about 2700m (the toe of the glacier).
Solar aspects had wind hammered storm snow seemingly well bonded to a
bulletproof crust below.
The snow depths were variable and shallow, ranging from 0-150cm below
the glacier and from 0-250cm on the glacier. Average snow depth above
2800m was about 250cm.
The N facing slopes that threaten the route as you exit the approach
gulley/waterfall at treeline have not avalanched and look ripe &
windloaded with a large cornice overhead. The N-NE facing slopes off
Hector's NW outlier peak that threaten the route between the moraine
and the glacier showed evidence of widespread avalanche & cornice
activity to size 3.0 in the past 72hrs.
One whoomf as we crested the moraine at ~2500m resulted in a large (sz
3.0) remote avalanche (crown 7m below our track) that ran far. Crown
was ~100m wide, 20 to 60cm thick, NE aspect, steep, convex and
windloaded. Impressive.
Skiing was good on the glacier, albeit worrying with the shallow
snowpack and recent storm snow and wind likely concealing crevasses.
Below the glacier -- well, bring your rock skis and your 6th sense if
you're dumb enough to go after reading this. Nasty skiing.
Temps ranged from -1 to -12C with moderate W winds and broken cloudy
skies. Solar aspects were softening later in the afternoon but the
snow below treeline was still supportive and almost skiable.
No evidence of natural avalanche activity today.
Regards,
Tom Wolfe
ASG/AAG
_______________________________________________
These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The
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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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