[MCR] Professor Falls and Massey's, Rockies, Dec 10-11, 2013

Subject: [MCR] Professor Falls and Massey's, Rockies, Dec 10-11, 2013
Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2013 18:57:15 -0800 (PST)
Guided an ascent of Professor Falls yesterday. Bikes could be useful for the first 3km of the approach with challenging snow riding after that. All of the pitches were well formed but wet. The final pitch was a bit of a soaker and had some chandelier ice that took a fair bit of cleaning. A good dry treated rope and rain gear for the last pitch made it enjoyable. Of note was that with the icy ropes the "auto-locking" top belay devices would not lock up unless a hand was firmly on the brake strand. 25cm of faceted snow with no wind effect in the vicinity of the climb.  

Spent today climbing Massey's alongside Mike Stuart.  This climb is in good shape with three lines of ascent on the first pitch which made for fun steep climbing laps at the end of the day. 6cm of low density storm snow is present with no winds at the lower elevations today.  Snowing lightly when we left so watch for sluffing out of steep terrain if the precip or winds pick up.

Cheers, Conrad Janzen
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
Banff Mountain Guides
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