We just finished a week of Apprentice Ski Guide training in the Spearhead & Duffey Region.
Last weeks rain event and well above seasonal temperatures was followed by a partially cloudy to clear, cool and dry spell with freezing levels to valley bottom. This has left the area with a well developed 5-10cm supportive rain crust on all aspects and elevations.
During the last three days we travelled between 800m and 2400m. Snowpack depths varied with below treeline elevations being well below normal at 50-100cm with deep rain runnels. A thick layer of 4mm surface hoar was found below treeline growing on the crust. Above 2000m the snowpack depth is more typical for this time of year. We probed 250-300cm of well settled snowpack on the glaciers. Crevasse coverage was generally good with large crevasses still very obvious. There are very large cornices on lee ridge lines.
No avalanche activity was observed since a natural cycle during the rain event. The the crust has locked down the upper snowpack and the warm temperatures and rain penetrated into the mid pack and it looked strong and well settled in all the test profiles we did. At this point fall hazard on the icy crust was our greatest concern especially in areas where the wind had polished a hard surface ice.
The travelling conditions were challenging with hard crust and rain runnels on all aspects and elevations. Uphill travel generally required ski crampons and boot crampons and ice axes were used on steeper slopes.
Trips were done in the Blackcomb area on N & S aspects of Mt Decker, the Trorey glacier, and the Spearhead glacier. In the Duffey we skied on Mt Chief Pascall, the lower slopes of Cayoosh Mountain and Rohr lake.
Have fun ski mountaineering out there!
14 aspirent guides
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Kirsten Knechtel
Keith Reid
Helen Sovdat
Matt Peter
ACMG / IFMGA Mountain Guides