The Mountain Shop » conditions

Cameron Pass Conditions January 21st

Kevin Landolt — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 23:02:45 +0000

No snowflake ever falls in the wrong place. - Zen saying

A small cell over the Never Summers has allowed for some light and varied accumulation. Winds have been whipping around and redistributing what has fallen. I skied up Seven Utes on Tuesday and found decent skiing. Though the area had been heavily tracked out over the weekend, enough new snow had fallen to partially cover the old tracks and allow for some pleasant skiing.

An un-named peak appears out of the clouds in the Silver Cr. Drainage.

Digging pits on N/NE aspects at tree line revealed the now familiar scene of 90+ cm of fresh precipitation and decomposing/fragmented particles on top a 60+cm bed of large facets and cup-shaped crystals. Compression tests revealed moderate results: CT-15/ECT-20, propagation appeared less reactive, and shears were Quality 2+ at the facets.

Decomposing/Fragmented Particles and Precipitation Particles form a slab over a bed of facets.

Reports on Powderbuzz indicate steeper lines are being skied without consequence, but be mindful that the current issue of depth-hoar is rooted in the base of the snowpack and the overall snow-depth on most slopes is still relatively shallow. The trend of light precipitation and moderate winds is forecasted to continue through the weekend. Be wary of fresh windslab on N/NE/E aspects above tree line.

And it never hurts to pray for more snow.

Poudre Canyon Ice is in!

Kevin Landolt — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:50:56 +0000

The Chimney Dribble

Reading Justin Harkins blog gets me psyched on ice. I’m always hatching plans to move up to Bozeman or down to Ouray for a full season of endless water ice pitches. There’s not much ice around Fort Collins, there’s some up the Big Thompson , and plenty of ice up in the Park (Patagonia Training Center) – but trips up there can hardly be considered for “cragging” and I’ve ended up just “taking the tools for a walk” a few too many times already this season.

Isn’t there any ice closer to home?

Driving up Poudre Canyon, going for trail-runs up different gulches, I’m always searching for ribbons of ice, or where I think they might form. Right now I know of four climbs that are “in” up the canyon. Most, if not all of them are very small and require long approaches that in my (lazy) opinion aren’t worth the effort. I do have hope for one little mixed climb I’ve been eyeing from the road. The approach is easy – park car, walk across frozen river, scramble up scree for about thirty feet – There’s a thin line of ice gracing a wide and loose chimney. I’m guessing about fifty feet or so of WI3+/M2 terrain.

On Saturday I went up there to check it out. It looks pretty intimidating from the road but in reality it’s quite tame. Currently the ice only graces the steep left wall of the chimney but you could still scramble up loose and rotten fourth class terrain on the right wall and you’d have to go out of your way to even touch the ice, so it seems a little contrived. If the ice gets a little thicker though, it has potential to be a fun and worthwhile climb. I’ll keep an eye on it… So Poudre Canyon does offer some ice… but it’s not exactly Hyalite Canyon.

Looking up the chimney.

The Tunnel Ice offers some quality bouldering at the moment.

On another note, I just finished reading the new issue of Alpinist. I’m something of a literary nerd and don’t often read climbing or ski oriented magazines. One exception is Alpinist Magazine. I was fortunate enough to start reading the “old” Alpinists years back and was pretty bummed when the magazine folded early last year.

When Alpinist was resurrected under new ownership and staff (including Editor Michael Kennedy – former publisher of Climbing Magazine) I was excited and hopeful. Right off the bat Kennedy made it clear that changes were to occur, especially in the magazine’s formatting, but overall its spirit would remain the same.

Three issues of the “new” Alpinist have been published and in my opinion the most recent, issue # 29 is the best yet, rivaling any of the old issues. Check out an intimate photo essay by Andrew Querner, a touching account of climbing, love, and loss by Jens Holsten, and a vivid portrait of Mt. Robson by Barry Blanchard. Climbing literature at its finest! Reading about spindrift, icefall, and frigid bivies is made all the more enjoyable when at home, curled up by the fire, sipping a frosty alcoholic beverage.

A planned trip down to Ouray got canceled, but hopefully I’ll get to head down that way next week and get some good skiing and climbing in. My classes begin January 20^th, so I’m determined to get as much action in before then. I hope everyone is getting out and having fun.

Kevin L

Cameron Pass Conditions January 11th

Kevin Landolt — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:49:39 +0000

“I love the winter mountains, but dread them too, as any sane person should. In a city it’s easy to think of the earth as fragile. Out here it feels otherwise. This place doesn’t seem weak. This earth won’t shatter at our touch. What seems fragile is how we think of ourselves. Out here I feel the immensity that lies beyond thought. In our minds, we make a small, safe place in which to live. But the world is a presence beyond our acts and dreams. There are blue mountains and white storms. We can prepare, but not predict.”

- C.L. Rawlins

Ptarmigan Run saw some action earlier this week.

This past Friday a friend and I scouted out Longest Run and some glades up around American Lakes. Although I didn’t observe any fresh natural activity, the snowpack was extremely tender and reactive. Temperatures remained in the low 20s, but with little wind. Aspects below treeline exposed to sun were especially worrisome and by the end of our day shooting cracks and settling were non-stop. We ended up retreating from both our planned descents. Pits dug on Longest Run (N. facing, below treeline) revealed a thick and fairly hard slab – 75cm of / (Decomposing & Fragmented Particles) and 30cm of + (Precipitation Particles), suspended by 75+ cm of FC (Faceted Crystals) and ^ (Cup-Shaped Crystals – Depth Hoar). An ice lens near the ground was still apparent in some areas. Up near American Lakes we found a shallow and less complex snowpack on NW/W aspects but of the same nature: Slab on a deep layer of facets, a “suspended snowpack”.

The layer of concern.

On Saturday around noon a large chunk of the N/NE face of S. Diamond slid. This is the third year in a row this slope has avalanched. Apparently it was a busy day up there; skiers and riders were farming turns on Ptarmigan Run, kids were hucking jumps at the base of Main Gully, and several parties were traversing the bench below the face. Fortunately no one was caught in the slide. It is still unclear whether the avalanche was natural or remotely triggered by a party skiing along the ridge or down on the bench.

Looking up the slide from the S. end.

I drove up early Sunday morning to examine the scene. I was amazed by the length of propagation: from S. Gully to the center of the face, a couple hundred yards easy. The crown appeared to be between three and seven feet in depth, and the slope slid on a prevalent basal crust. Tongues of debris (10+ feet deep in areas) crossed the bench and petered out in the glades. The rocky steps on S. Shoulder slid as well, though possibly at an earlier date. I dug pits on a similar aspect to the slide and observed a layer of hard slab (95cm in depth – 65 / and 30 cm +) resting on top of 65+ cm of facets, on top of a thin basal crust… Nothing new and pretty universal for these aspects in the zone. I also saw easy results (CT-9 / ECT-14 / Quality 2) with stability tests.

Debris on the bench was 10+ feet deep in areas.

It’s not all doom and gloom though. I found good turns above treeline on the E. face of North Diamond. Though slightly wind/sun affected the snowpack was relatively shallow/consistent and offered up some good carvable turns on a styrofoam-like surface. It’s been a warm week up in the high-country and the wind has died down a bit. Don’t let these calm, sunny conditions fool you. Expect lingering sensitivity for some time to come.

Here’s a quote Ethan Greene of the CAIC posted on the 8th: “We are issuing a Special Advisory Statement for the Northern Mountains and the Sawatch range. Dangerous avalanche conditions currently exist in backcountry areas. A very weak snowpack and weather earlier this season have created conditions where natural avalanches are unlikely, but human triggered avalanches are probable.”

As always, be safe and have fun.

Kevin L.

- There’s some good pics and discussion about the recent slide on Powderbuzz.