[MCR] Wapta conditions and close call on Mt. Balfour

Myself and Lisa Paulson skiied from Bow
to Sherbrooke on Feb. 4-6th.  We circumnavigated Gordon via the West
slopes, attempted to summit Balfour, and then skiied out via the benches
below Mt. Niles.  Here are a few observations:

• We found good travel conditions with variable snow depths on the glaciers ranging from 25cm on scoured areas above bow hut to 3m +.  
• Ski pen was 5-10cm which made for good gliding on the low angled terrain.
• Mild alpine temperatures with light winds and clear weather dominated.
• The Balfour high col was in good shape.  We took the high bench, but the crevasse on the normal route looked well filled in (see picture)
• The only recent  natural avalanche activity we saw was wet loose snow avalanches from steep, rocky south aspects in the late afternoon sun.

We had a close call on the summit slope
of Mt. Balfour on Sunday, Feb. 5th.  We remote triggered a size 2
avalanche on a steep south aspect at 3000m elevation.  The avalanche
was a windslab on facets, and took one of us for a short ride (see picture).
 Luckily, no one was injured.  This incident shows that there
may still be some lingering instabilities in the high alpine that may take
a little longer to heal.  After all, it's still early February in
a Rockies snowpack that has seen a lot of wind this season.  

Stay safe out there.



Ian Jackson
Visitor Safety Technician
Banff, Yoho, Kootenay National Parks
www.parksmountainsafety.ca
www.parcsecuritemontagne.ca

Balfour high col.JPG
Description: JPEG image

Mt. Balfour avalanche.JPG
Description: JPEG image

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