[MCR] Rockies: Wapta - Bow and Peyto Huts and Mt Rhondda

Got out yesterday from a few days checking out the Wapta and Bow Summit.

Bow Summit Sunday Jan 11, 2015: Upwards of 70 people in the area. Found a predominantly shallow snow pack of around 70 to 90 cm. Extensive surface hoar from 5 to 10mm was noted on the surface at Treeline and Below. Didn’t venture into the alpine. Easy to moderate sudden planar results on the December 18 layer. Got a rutschblock 4 whole block in a sheltered location near treeline on the December 18 layer down about 45cm.

Bow Lake to Bow Hut / Mt Rhondda / Peyto Hut / Return to Bow and exit to Bow Lake Jan 12 – 15, 2015:

Lots of traffic going up to Bow Hut on Jan 12. Trail is pretty well beaten but large open holes with water still lurking. Exiting the canyon to gain the trees can be interesting and not as easy as normal. Surface sluffing in the canyon likely several days prior to our ascent did not trigger any deeper weaknesses. Lots of tracks going in odd places and many folks not taking standard avalanche precautions made me scratch my head given that the hazard was rated as considerable/ considerable/moderate. Lots of surface hoar evident on the surface at treeline and below. Once in the open recent winds have been blowing the surface hoar away. It is likely still lurking in sheltered locations in the alpine and at treeline. This will be on my radar when we get the next snowfall. Spent over an hour shoveling out the front steps at Bow Hut. Changed both outhouse barrels with Kenji, Randy and one of Kenji’s friends. Strong work lads! Would be helpful if folks changed the barrels before the frozen tower of poo gets so high that it is problematic moving the barrel!!! Moderate winds with occasional strong gusts persisted all night.

Skied up Rhondda on Jan 13 on the way from Bow to Peyto Hut. Extensive wind affect made for easy trail breaking on the traverse with between 0cm and 10cm of ski penetration in breakable crust. I was not confident enough in the early season snowpack and limited information to travel unroped while ascending and traversing the glaciers. The final steep slope to gain the S ridge of Rhondda was a combination of rock hard slab and variable windcrust. Took full precautions on the ascent and descent. Moderate W winds at ridgetop all but obliterated any recent tracks in this area.

>From our vantage point on Rhondda looking over toward Mt. Collie we noted extensive open crevasses and large sags everywhere on the normal travel routes. It did not look at all inviting.

Noted a Size 1.5 slab release of unknown age (last 48hours?) in steep S facing terrain on Mt. Thompson. Looks like it may have been cornice triggered prior to Jan 12.

Ski descent to Peyto hut was predominantly breakable windcrust with occasional pockets of softer snow that didn’t last long enough to be enjoyable. The closer toward Mt. Thompson we went the better the snow quality (as is often the case here) but I would rate the ski quality as fair to poor. Had another hour of shoveling at Peyto to clear the doorway and find the hut shovel buried under a foot of snow and ice at the base of the stairs. The latch on the door is broken and snow had blown in to the boot room. I improvised a solution with an eye hook found in the hut to lash the door closed until repairs can be made. It should be obvious how to accomplish this when you are there.

Looking down at the Peyto Glacier from the hut there are still lots of areas of bare ice and sags which could be problematic if you were at all off route or worse yet, unroped. Still looks like an early season shallow snowpack in that direction.

Stayed roped for most of the return journey from Peyto to Bow Hut. Extensive probing over the three days gave results from 130 to 180cm with 150cm being fairly typical. A group who attempted St. Nicholas reported probing snow depths as shallow as 70cm. Sounds like they were also cautious with regard to glacier travel precautions in this young snowpack. They noted at least one large crevasse on what would be the more normal route to St. Nicholas. They commented that the closer to St. Nicholas you went on the approach the more crevassed the area appeared.

We noted a large open crevasse near the lowest point between Rhondda and Thompson. A group making an attempt on Mt. Gordon turned back but we never met up with them to discuss why??

On the ski out from Peyto to Bow Hut then Bow Lake on Jan 14 we had moderate W winds that made the minus 5 temperatures seem colder. The tracks we made Jan 13 had disappeared overnight. The steeper slopes leading down to Bow hut were more breakable and wind affected than the slopes closer to the Onion which provided uninspiring but perfectly manageable turns. The temperatures ranged from minus 5 to minus 16 during the three days but warmer temperatures were evident descending the canyon and crossing the lake. Several Size 1 loose avalanches were noted on steep south facing terrain. A Size 1.5 loose avalanche was noted at 13:30 in a steep S facing feature. Adjacent slopes had snowballing evident suggesting the surface snow was moist. Some S and W slopes may now have a sun crust for your skiing enjoyment...

Cyril Shokoples
ACMG MG / IFMGA
Rescue Dynamics



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