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ACMG Mountain Conditions Report Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued
Another glorious autumn week in western Canada, with great climbing weather for this time of the year. Conditions are remarkably uniform throughout the western ranges, but hereâ??s a selection of observations from the limited reports Iâ??ve been getting from guides lately.
In the Columbia Icefields there is virtually no snow from treeline down. South aspects are dry and anything else is dusted with 5-10 cm of snow. Yesterday a small cornice failure propagated into a size 2 avalanche. Small and weak crevasse bridging continues to complicate glacier travel. During a crevasse rescue exercise conducted by Park Visitor Safety staff yesterday a â??dummyâ?? victim thrown down onto a bridge did not result in a bridge failure, but the weight of the rescuer standing on it a few minutes later caused the bridge to collapse catastrophically. Snow depths on the Athabasca glacier range from bare ice down low, to 30-100 cm up high. Alpine ice routes are mostly dry, e.g. Asteroid Alley and Shooting Gallery are covered in snow and may look in condition from a distance, but a party 10 days ago backed off due to insufficient ice. Athabascaâ??s N Face route reportedly has dry rock through the crux band up high.
On north facing aspects throughout all ranges there is enough snow in the high alpine (2800 m and up in the Columbia Icefields; this may vary elsewhere) for avalanche concerns, especially in wind affected areas such as gullies and small windslabs. Adding avalanche equipment to your gear list is definitely something to consider by now if you havenâ??t already.
Lower elevation and sunny aspect alpine rock is in great shape almost everywhere. Today the Kain Route on Mt. Louis is being climbed. Itâ??s a chilly day to be up there but sunny with dry rock.
In the Purcells the Big Hose ice climb (Bugaboos) was reportedly climbed a few days ago. Itâ??s still early for reliable ice climbing, but as usual for this time of the year with some hunting in the high cold places youâ??re bound to be successful. For the most part however ice climbing is still an ephemeral veneer.
In Totem Ck, Spreading Peak and Totem 1 were climbed yesterday from the west, involving scrambling above 3000 m on south and west aspects. Little snow was reported on the routes, especially on S aspects. Higher up some hard patches of drifted snow and small new cornices were observed. Temps were below freezing all day with frozen grond in the shade and little snow melt even with solar heating. â??White on the north sides and brown on the south sidesâ?? is how Helen Sovdat described Totem Ck, and thatâ??s pretty much the case throughout the west right now.
In the South Cariboos thereâ??s about 5 cm of snow lingering on non-solar aspects above 1600 m. More further north. Alpine lakes and tarns are beginning to freeze.
Good rock climbing weather reported on the east slopes on solar aspects at all elevations.
Several minor but potentially injury-causing rockfall events were reported at low elevation sunny crags such as Wasootch. These involved apparently sound holds which broke when weighted, possibly due to the daily melt-freeze cycles weâ??ve had lately on sunny aspects.
To the north, similar conditions have been reported around the Bulkley Valley (Smithers) with snow down to about 1500 m and a dusting of snow throughout the alpine. No significant ice has formed yet in this area.
The weather forecast throughout the weekend in the Rockies calls for the same good weather with cold overnight freezes down to valley bottom. Great conditions for the right climbs or alpine tours. The weather further west, especially around the coast, is forecast to be a bit more mixed, with some minor precipitation expected.
Tom Wolfe
ACMG Mountain Guide
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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. Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.
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_______________________________________________
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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