Following reading week, the avy conditions turned to absolute garbage. I took a weekend off and did some XC skiing (the one and only day of the season), and then the next weekend did some touring around Taylor and Tryst. Having my new skis mounted up meant that I could finally keep up with some faster guys and not feel like I was lugging around 100 pounds on my feet. Still, it also means that I am not getting the same workout from a day of skiing. The avy conditions stayed pretty nasty though, so we were playing relatively safe and not really going after anything.
 |
| Pete heading up Panorama Ridge near Taylor Lake |
This past weekend, though, it was time for the one ACC trip that I committed to leading this winter. I planned it out so that I had a minimum of workload surrounding it, and it ended up coinciding with St. Patrick's Day. I got 6 spots at the Bow Hut, and over the weekend, the typical ACC bunch plus Niall from the UAOC and Chris (a new guy soon to be confused with Frenchie) got together for a weekend on the icefield.
Saturday morning we left the hostel early and tried to get moving quickly. The pace was pretty slow while we waited for some straggling members of the group, but we hit the hut in about 3 hours which wasn't horrible. We stopped for a bit and tried to get a fire started with the wet wood, and then decided to try our luck with some turns on the glacier. It was a pretty heavy whiteout so we didn't stay out too long, making only one run. As soon as we got back and all unpacked though, the weather cleared so Niall and me headed out and made a couple more runs on the steeper portion of the glacier. Although that run is pretty over-hyped, I will admit that it makes for some good wiggle turns with a view. We were eating supper by 6 and soon broke out the booze. Most of the participants had overpacked, and not just with clothing!
 |
| Christophe and JP at the top of the steep pitch below the hut. Typical Wapta conditions... |
 |
| A GSA apostle arrived at the hut! |
 |
| A selection of St. Patty's drink. Note the Pil-can on the left, a Manitoban influence? |
There were only 12 of us in the hut that night so we enjoyed the free space, and although a storm raged over night, the next morning dawned perfectly clear. The first thing that I noticed with the clear weather was the presence of a huge crown on the serac which threatens the approach route and sympathetic releases on the moraines below. Parks Mtn Safety rated the slide at size 3.0, and it covered our ascent tracks. That sure is a reminder to move fast through that section, and if it's being actively wind loaded, perhaps abandon the approach. After a quick breakfast we headed for the St. Nic/Olive col and worked our way up St. Nic. It was a bit spooky with the freshly loaded slopes primed below, and I made my best effort to reduce the chance of being dragged off the ridge by any potential slides.
 |
| The upper crown below the serac. It sure dug down deep. This photo does not show the full extent of the slide. |
 |
| Morning light on St. Nic |
 |
| Our Nelsonite friends heading for the Balfour Hut |
 |
| The most overly photographed part of the Wapta |
 |
| Moving along towards the col. Trailbreaking here turned quite deep! |
 |
| At the col, with Olive behind |
 |
| I didn't get any summit shots (it was pretty crowded) but here's the other rope team coming back to the col. |
Based on the pace of the group, it didn't seem suitable to go up Olive as planned, so instead we lapped the glacier again before picking up our gear from the hut and heading out. Again, the pace of our slowest members reared its head and we ended up at the parking lot two hours after we planned. I didn't really expect the exit to take very long, even for novices, but I'll have to keep that in mind next time. Oh well, there's nothing quite like getting back home past midnight...
 |
| Chris carves some nice powder above the hut. |
 |
| Niall caught this one of me skiing below St. Nic. Unfortunately the blue sky had left us by now. |
No comments:
Post a Comment