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A group of 5 Parks Canada staff from Kluane,
Banff and Jasper spent 6 days in the Pinnacle Peak area of the St. Elias
range last week. Here is what we found:
Weather: Mostly clear weather with light winds and temperatures ranging from +10 to -10. We had a significant storm on the morning of June 3rd which dropped 30 cms with moderate ridgetop winds. Travel Conditions: The strong diurnal cycle created good travel conditions overnight and in the mornings with a 10cm+ thick melt freeze crust. This crust was breaking down on solar aspects around noon. Ski and boot crampons were very useful. We consistently probed over 3m of snow on all glaciers in our area. We had good confidence in crevasse bridges when temperatures were cool, but could see many obvious sags where the weight of the bridge was starting to cause strain. Avalanche Activity: We saw minimal avalanche activity throughout the week and gained confidence in our danger rating of Low. Avalanche problems were typical for spring: loose wet related to daytime warming and small windslabs on high north aspects. We forecasted the avalanche danger to rise to Moderate or Considerable with the precipitation we received on the 3rd but didn't get out in the field to test our theory. We had additional flights on both the way in and out around the south side of Mt. Logan and Mt. Kennedy/ Hubbard and Alverstone and noticed very little avalanche activity and no recent deep fracture lines. Many of the steeper faces were blue and icy. Kluane National Park staff felt glacier coverage was average, but some glaciers were more broken than normal. We found the terrain to be nicely varied with many options for ski touring and general mountaineering in close proximity to our camp. It has been better than average weather up there this spring - hopefully it holds out for folks still planning trips there this season. Ian Jackson & Max Darrah ACMG Mountain Guides Parks Canada Visitor Safety Banff/Yoho/Kootenay & Jasper National Parks www.parksmountainsafety.ca | www.parcsecuritemontagne.ca
_______________________________________________ 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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