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| Lee Lau photo from this year 12-03-07 Tremor Trorey Cull From 2009 to show how bony the alpine is. |
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At 2280 meters the temperature is - 7, winds are ESE 40-50 KPH. At 1550 meters the temperature is - 3, 98 % relative humidity and the barometer is falling. 11 cm of new snow was recorded at pig alley. 7 cm recorded at cat skinner. In the valley it is 0. All the models are pointing towards snow fall for the next week.
For the updated avalanche advisory click here: Avalanche Advisory
Another Avalanche Fatality in the US this week, click here for details: 2 Skiers
Cornices are dangerous , many people have died or hurt themselves from them breaking when you least expect it, click here : Cornice Failure
Here are some recent observations from Lee Lau:
Been very windy this year. Any snow this year has been accompanied by wind. On Monday March 5 there was reported N winds in the evening as the low pressure transitioned to high pressure. We thought it would be high-pressure so A, S and me planned to do a mini Spearhead and ski out the Curtain Glacier. I wanted to investigate an exit via Adit Lakes which would be new terrain for me
Unfortunately it was graybird most of the day. Snow was pretty decent with easy travelling but windslab was a factor. There was windslab on the Decker approach. We took the low Decker - Trorey col which also had some w/s (20 - 10cms) on the ski entry to the Trorey Glacier. Inversion is in full effect. Minus 7 in valley and minus 1 at Decker shoulder so warming is also a bit of a concern. The windslab was a concern only in the first 20m or so of the route down Decker-Trorey then quite a bit less present on the Trorey Gl proper.
Route then was to Pattison. We poked a bit higher to take a look at NW Pattison which also looked quite slabby. Not wishing to roll dice we skied off SE Pattison to the Tremor Glacier then took the usual Spearhead route then to MacBeth col -Curtain Glacier. Tons of rime and wind effect on all aspects (probably that N wind at the tail end of last weekend's storm). Skipped Macbeth Pk to Stu's chagrin as I didn't feel the need to climb 100m of windslab.
Ski down Curtain Glacier was pretty good. Some mild slab but it's pretty protected with snow quality improving as you get lower as the temps actually dropped. Slots are well covered although still not as filled in as in 09's record year (so maybe avoid the central Curtain Glacier direct). Lots of solar effect on the bottom bit of the Platform Glacier fyi. Winds at MacBeth Col were medium fyi (SW at approx 20 - 30).
Fitz Creek at 1400m or so is quite covered so after some routefinding we punched through to the bowls below Russet Lake and began the laborious climb up to Russet Ridge then to Cowboy Ridge.
Another Avalanche Fatality in the US this week, click here for details: 2 Skiers
Cornices are dangerous , many people have died or hurt themselves from them breaking when you least expect it, click here : Cornice Failure
Here are some recent observations from Lee Lau:
Been very windy this year. Any snow this year has been accompanied by wind. On Monday March 5 there was reported N winds in the evening as the low pressure transitioned to high pressure. We thought it would be high-pressure so A, S and me planned to do a mini Spearhead and ski out the Curtain Glacier. I wanted to investigate an exit via Adit Lakes which would be new terrain for me
Unfortunately it was graybird most of the day. Snow was pretty decent with easy travelling but windslab was a factor. There was windslab on the Decker approach. We took the low Decker - Trorey col which also had some w/s (20 - 10cms) on the ski entry to the Trorey Glacier. Inversion is in full effect. Minus 7 in valley and minus 1 at Decker shoulder so warming is also a bit of a concern. The windslab was a concern only in the first 20m or so of the route down Decker-Trorey then quite a bit less present on the Trorey Gl proper.
Route then was to Pattison. We poked a bit higher to take a look at NW Pattison which also looked quite slabby. Not wishing to roll dice we skied off SE Pattison to the Tremor Glacier then took the usual Spearhead route then to MacBeth col -Curtain Glacier. Tons of rime and wind effect on all aspects (probably that N wind at the tail end of last weekend's storm). Skipped Macbeth Pk to Stu's chagrin as I didn't feel the need to climb 100m of windslab.
Ski down Curtain Glacier was pretty good. Some mild slab but it's pretty protected with snow quality improving as you get lower as the temps actually dropped. Slots are well covered although still not as filled in as in 09's record year (so maybe avoid the central Curtain Glacier direct). Lots of solar effect on the bottom bit of the Platform Glacier fyi. Winds at MacBeth Col were medium fyi (SW at approx 20 - 30).
Fitz Creek at 1400m or so is quite covered so after some routefinding we punched through to the bowls below Russet Lake and began the laborious climb up to Russet Ridge then to Cowboy Ridge.
