I headed up Collier Peak with a friend via the Lake O'Hara road early this morning. We found barely supportive crusts in the forest below 2000m in the a.m. Higher up in the drainage, north of the Watchtower, fast travel was found on a bomber sun and wind crust. The Collier Glacier toe was stripped of snow by down-flow winds, the mid-section of the glacier had 5-10cm boot penetration into '4-finger' density snow, and the last 150m to the ridgecrest was variable, with isolated lenses of non-reactive wind slabs. The bergschrund was bridged by 2.3+m of snow. I've never been there in the summer, so I don't know how large this hole really is, other than looking at Google Earth images.
No shears noted in the mid-upper snowpack, -7*C at 9am below the face, and no winds gave us the confidence to explore onto this large, unsupported feature. On the way out, slopes with sun had nicely corned up and gave great skiing. The forest below 2000m had turned to unpleasant mashed potatoes, but still "skiable" in a long traverse back to the road.
A great tour in these fantastic spring conditions.
Chris Gooliaff IFMGA/ACMG MG
|
Collier N Face.jpg
Description: JPEG image
Isothermal mashed potatoes.jpg
Description: JPEG image
_______________________________________________
These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The
ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in
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.
See http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.
See http://informalex.org/subscribe.shtml#unsubscribe to remove your name from
this list.
|
