Hell and heaven on Mt Assiniboine Northeast Ridge this week. We flew
into Assiniboine lodge on Sunday, Sept 26th, and approached the Hind
Hut. Moderate west winds greeted us at the end of the Gmoser highway
and badgered us up to the hut. We noted a size 1 slab avalanche of
newer than 48 hours? out from just above the bergshrund to the
climber's left side of the ridge.
Sept 27th we made a hellish attempt in constant mod-strong west
winds. Amazing clouds forming and turbining in the lee of the east
face, so cool to actually see how the wind works given the dramatic
painting out of the clouds. We had boot top penetration in firm mash
potato snow that went to dryish winter snow with altitude. We put on
crampons after a couple of hundred meters of ascent. Verglas had been
rimed onto the holds of the Red Band, as well as the next band higher
up -the Gold Band. The climbing was difficult given the slickness of
the holds, and the gale force gusts that threatened to slap us off of
them. It took me an hour to lead a pitch that usually only takes
10minutes! We bailed and made it back to the hut after being gone
from it for 12 hours.
That night the winds continued and in the wee hours rain began
hammering. The morning of the 28th revealed a size 2 avalanche that
ran to the ice surface from a steep couloir climber's right of the
North Face Couloir. A second wet snow avalanche ran as we watched. We
suspected water saturating the snow and cutting the bond with the
ice. We descended to the Naisett Cabins in the rain. It appeared to
rain right to the summit of Assiniboine.
My fellow Mountain Guide, Sepp Renner, treated us royally at
Assiniboine Lodge and suggested that we extend our trip as the
weather was clearing and cooling off and, given the saturated
snowpack, the conditions could be really good once it froze.
Sept 29th saw us back at the Hind Hut in the fine company of my
fellow Mountain Guide, Jen Olson, and her quest.
Sept 30th we walked away at 05:30 on top of cement like frozen snow,
right beside our boot deep postholes of a couple days before. We put
on crampons at the final steeping of the approach morraine and
enjoyed pretty much perfect cramponing up to the Red Band. The
verglas had been washed off of the Gold Band and I was up it in 10
minutes. The snow became more crusty and winter like on the upper
mountain with 30-50 cms sitting on the ridgecrest. We crunched onto
the summit at 12:30 ... perfectly calm, not a cloud in the sky. The
visibility was incredibly clear with no dust or smoke for hundreds of
miles, not a breath of wind and warm sunshine.
Our descent was made via a series of North Face rappels starting at
the low end of the 'walkable' summit ridge. At the top of the Red
Band we traversed, on rappel, 20 meters east to the normal NE ridge
rappel line. We got back to the hut at 18:00 and descended the Gmoser
Highway this morning, Oct 1. Some overnight verglas on the edges of
the waterfalls.
Thanks so much to the Renners and their warm hospitality.
Happy trails,
Barry Blanchard
Mountain Guide
www.barryblanchard.ca
www.yamnuska.com
Sept 27th
Sept 30
Oct 1
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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
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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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