The moderate winds and 15-20cm of snow around and south of Bow Summit dwindled to light winds and 10cm on the road from the David Thompson onward. Snowfall had ended by daybreak, and with the mid-morning passing of the northerly front, it was bluebird and calm for the rest of the day. Temps hovered around -2 all day, but it felt plenty warmer with the windless conditions.
Plenty of moving water on all the routes; nonetheless, the ice quality and climbing on the three central routes was reported good. Snivelling Gully is still not fully formed and not recommended. It has very little good ice but lots of unconsolidated snow lying over a combination of bare rock, fragile ice lenses, and moving water.
There are two decent trails in to the Upper Tier now with lots of wallowing anywhere else. Mare in Winter looks in, but a bit scratchy at the bottom. We started up Weeping Pillar, but turned around part way up when solar sluffing off the steeps reached a crescendo and we started getting pummelled. The Pillar looks fully in, though typically fierce at the finish.
From the road, the Whimper Wall, Bob Sized Smears, Polar Circus (what could be seen, including a fat-looking Pencil) and Ice Nine all looked in good shape.
Have fun!
Carl Johnston, AAG/RG
Jesse DeMontigny, MG
Yamnuska Mountain Adventures