[MCR] Whiteman's Settlements

Subject: [MCR] Whiteman's Settlements
Date: Sat, 9 Jan 2016 10:29:32 -0700
Hi Everyone, 

Further to Lilla's post a day or two ago, I came out of the Highwood area yesterday (Friday Jan 8th) after a training course and came across Darren and Kenji who had just walked part way out of Whiteman's Falls.  They climbed the first pitch and had a very unsettling settlement somewhere proximal to Kenji's tools at the top of the 1st pitch. The sound the settlement made thundered through the canyon.  They retreated.  

It appears these events reinforce the imperative of carefully assessing the ice we are to climb when we roll up to freestanding ice features. The temperatures had been consistently cold leading up to the 5th of January, the freezing levels rose to about 1900-2000 on Jan 6th and then yesterday the temps returned to seasonal values of about -10.0 and yesterday morning to -20.0.  Perhaps this is contributing factor to the settlements and perhaps not, nonetheless it is worth being aware of.

Best Regards,

Paddy Jerome

Public Safety Specialist

Kananaskis Region

Alberta Environment and Parks

Office: 403 687 5500 ext: 277

Cell: 403 678 7064

Email: paddy.jerome@xxxxxxxxx

Facebook: Kananaskis Public Safety

Twitter: Kananaskis Public Safety

_______________________________________________
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.