[MCR] Mt Victoria

Subject: [MCR] Mt Victoria
Date: Sat, 14 May 2011 16:35:39 -0600
For anyone still interested in glisse, some friends and I have experienced excellent skiing above Lake Louise lately. We skied from the South Summit of Victoria yesterday (May 13), via the NE Face. Despite the light freeze overnight, the snow carried well during the approach. The NE Face itself was in the best shape I've seen with good coverage and supportive, boot-top step kicking for the way up.
 
A light wind helped keep things cool and we did not observe any moist snow on the the NE Face proper. Below 3000 meters, we had good corn skiing by 10am. Although there was a great deal of debris present on solar aspects, we did not observe any avalanches during our travels.

Temps at the lake were -1 at 3:30 am and -5 on the summit at 9:00 am. Oddly, the lake seemed better frozen on the way back at 11:30am than it did at 3:30 am.

For anyone headed up that way, it would be better to travel towards the toe of the Victoria Glacier before cutting off towards the Tea House. The Plain of Six Glaciers Trail is strewn with debris for most of it's length and makes for unpleasant travel. 

Cheers,
Andrew


--
Andrew Wexler
ACMG / IFMGA Mountain Guide

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