spent the day travelling to Sapphire Col & back from the Asulkan Valley.
bluebird skies with a wisp of high cloud as weather patterns adjust today. in
the later afternoon we could see some darker cloud to the North as some Coastal
moisture moved thru, but no precip was observed. winds calm throughout the day
and temps zipped around from -22 at the trailhead in the morning, to -7 up at
Sapphire col in the mid afternoon.
snpk had 20-30cm of blower HST over a firm & settled midpack. in exposed areas
above treeline there was a 5-10mm windpress crust on top, but it didn't hinder
the good skiing at all. it appeared that this was formed from downflow winds
in localized areas. there were surface facets & surface hoar, up to 10mm in
size, in the more sheltered areas, tho it was hard to find in the exposed high
alpine areas - anything above 2300m. looking across the valley to South & West
aspects, large windloaded rolls (both horizontal & vertical crossloaded slopes)
were quite visible.
we had an easy shear at the base of the HST in sheltered areas at & below
treeline - easy to ski cut on any steep, unsupported rolls. it didn't act as a
slab & stopped quickly when the angle leaned back. we also encountered some
small surface sloughing near valley bottom elevations. no large recent (past
24 hrs) avalanches were noted, but there were a number of smaller ones (to size
1.5) that ran from steep, rocky areas. some may have run today with the
warming temperatures & sunshine, others in the last 24 hrs - most likely from
the same triggers.
we gave large overhead hazards (big slopes & cornices) a healthy margin, but
felt quite confident on smaller rolls & planar slopes.
coverage on the Asulkan glacier on the regular route up to the col appeared
quite healthy. slots in the usual places on the steeper aspects climber's left
of the ascent route above the small icefall. the usual large holes NE of
Castor & Leda still very much there.
the new snow is fun but slow, so wax your ride before you set out. we didn't
and elevated the art of 'back seat driving' to a new standard!
dave healey / asg
_______________________________________________
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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