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I spent the last seven days in the Freshfield Icefield/ Mummery glacier area with a couple friends. We camped at 2650m NE of the Helmer/ Gilgit col and skiied between 3200 and 2200m. Here is what we found:
Weather: It started off cold, clear and calm on April 1st followed by mixed convective clouds on the 3rd and 4th. A storm on the 5th and 6th dropped 60-100 cm of snow with moderate west winds at ridgetop. A weak ridge of high pressure moved in on the 7th and 8th which brought strong to extreme west/ northwest winds and caused widespread wind effect in the alpine. Temperatures at camp (2650m) gradually warmed from -20 on the night of the 1st to 0 on the morning of the 8th.
Avalanche activity: On the flight in we noticed several fresh slabs to size 2.5 on S-W aspects in thin snowpack terrain. We also saw evidence of an older cycle on polar aspects that had come out during the last storm primarily out of steep terrain and with cornice triggers. Compression and deep tap tests indicated hard sudden planar results down 120cm at the previous storm interface (mid March). When the winds picked up towards the end of the week, we saw several cornice failures/ serac falls triggering fresh windslabs up to 40cm deep.
Glacier conditions: Snowpack on the ice was well over 3.5m in all areas probed except for thin/ scoured areas (ridges) where we probed 2.5m. Lots of large open crevasses and bergschrunds on these glaciers. The upper snowpack was fairly unconsolidated (you had to go down 1.5-2m before getting into denser snow), which had us wary of weak, recently bridged crevasses.
Ski quality: Excellent at the beginning of the week deteriorating as the winds/ warm temperatures came in towards the end of the week. We were mostly limited by poor visibility as there are few rocks for reference and all the terrain had some sort of crevasse hazard to negotiate, which was difficult in poor light.
A beautiful area with lots of ski mountaineering objectives and steep ski lines. If you're planning a trip into this area soon and want more info, feel free to contact me.
Ian Jackson ACMG Mountain Guide
_______________________________________________ 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. |
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