I tried to find south facing ice yesterday as temperatures are dropping
in the valley. It was only -3 on the top of Hungry Hill at 800 m, but no
ice at all above Helen Lake. This surprises me as it has certainly
rained in the fall. The icefall at 14 km on the Equity Mine Road was in,
but too steep and thin for my first outing of the season. So I ended up
touring on Hudson Bay Mountain above the ski area. The prairie is its
usual windswept self, but the coverage is fairly firm. Most rocks can be
avoided. There are 40 to 70 cm of highly variable snowpack in this area.
The cornices above Crater Lake are forming, but they are by no means
large yet. The slopes of Kathlyn Peak on the N side of Big Simpson's
Gulch showed lots of wind effect. It was -9.5 at 1850 m. There was very
light snowfall and a moderate SW wind, but no accumulation. The ranges
to the west were clouded over more, but I doubt that much accumulated
there either. So it's still thin, but there are things to do.
--
Christoph Dietzfelbinger
IFMGA/ UIAGM Mountain Guide - Bear Mountaineering and the Burnie Glacier Chalet
CAA Professional Member
Box 4222 Smithers, B.C. V0J 2N0 Canada
tel. 250-847-3351/ fax 250-847-2854
info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx www.bearmountaineering.ca
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