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My colleague Tim Pochay and I travelled around part of the Spearhead Traverse yesterday and found a variety of conditions from crust on steep solar aspects to polished windslab on high north-facing glaciers to loose, dry powder in sheltered terrain with a northerly bias.
Open crevasses still linger, in places, on all the glaciers. The winds were very strong from the south-west and south-east at ridgetop and were loading snow all day long onto high-elevation north-facing terrain. Modifying our route plan and bravely running away from the wind, we descended into the upper reaches of Fitzsimmons Creek and enjoyed some good skiing in the lower Curtain Glacier basin. Steep solar aspects had previously avalanched during the warming from January 15th. Steep south-facing alpine terrain had a teeth-chattering crust.....bring a chin-strap.
Some creeks are still open and running at the headwaters of the Fitz., and make for great opportunities to refill the water bottle. The west-facing terrain leading into Singing Pass made for good skiing, as well. The Singing Pass Trail is in reasonable condition but fast. There are a couple of creek-crossings much lower on the trail that aren't entirely filled-in, so best to approach them slowly so you don't get surprised.....
Wishing Everyone safe travels,
Dale Marcoux
ACMG Ski Guide
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