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Marc's
Conditions Web Log
Friday February 27, 2009
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Breaking out the approach to Frankenstein on Monday |
As I write this it is raining outside so from a conditions perspective there is not much I can tell you except that the rain is light and shouldn't have too much of a negative impact. Last weekend I spent Saturday, Sunday and Monday at Frankenstein and the conditions were very good.
On Saturday I climbed wit Kristina and Don and we spent most of the time in the Amphitheater climbing Rock Finish, Chia, Chia Right Side and Pegasus. At one point Don lead the upper part of Chia. I don't have any pictures from that day because I forgot my camera.
On Sunday I climbed with Bruce and Dan. Dan had only done a little top roping on ice but he had rock climbed with me in the past, Bruce had done quite a bit of ice climbing both with me and in other areas. We started with Bob's Delight which was hanging in there pretty well but this rain will probably end its season. After Bob's we went into the Amphitheater and climbed Chia, Rock Finish and Pegasus. While climbing we ran into Kristina and Don. As Bruce Dan and I were wrapping up the day it started snowing, the precipitation was from a good size storm that was predicted for that night.
After finishing up with Dan and Bruce I met Heros, Tom and Mike who were scheduled to climb Mount Washington on Monday with me. After talking about the forecast we decided not to make an attempt on Mount Washington but to ice climb instead. The next day I woke up to about 8 inches of snow on the ground in North Conway. The four of us drove up to Frankenstein where we were surprised to find a solid 2 feet of new snow. The railroad tracks were not broken out so we broke trail to Bob's. No one had ice climbed before so we went over technique at Bob's so we could stay out of the wind. After working there we continued down the tracks still breaking trail to Standard where we climb the first two pitches of that route.
As I said at the start it is raining right now. Prior to this rain the ice was fat and in good shape. It seems that this rain will put a dent into the conditions but it seems light enough that it won't do too much damage. The temperatures should be back below freezing again tomorrow so I am guessing the ice will stay pretty good for this weekend.
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Friday February 20, 2009
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Steve skinning up the South Snowfields |
The last two days I have been skiing with Steve and Todd. Both Steve and Todd are from Vermont and wanted to do some training, Steve was preparing for an AMGA Ski Mountaineering Course and Aspirant Exam and Todd wanted to brush up on some skills for his work in a college outdoor program.
On Tuesday we headed up the Gulf of Slides Ski Trail into the Gulf. We skinned up the South snowfields, while ascending we were met by Jay who climbed up with us so he could get a run in on the South Snowfields with us to keep an eye on him. After watching Jay get a good run down, Todd, Steve and I continued up to Boott Spur to get a view of the area so we could familiarize ourselves with the conditions on the upper reaches of Mount Washington. After our reconnaissance we skied and hiked down a bit to the top of Gully #3 and skied that gully to the base. After a little lunch we headed back up the South Snowfields and made our way to Gully #1 and skied that gully. After a short break at the base of Gully #1 we skied back down to Pinkham. Once back at Pinkham we did some practice with avalanche transceivers. Steve would need to be able to locate 3 transceivers in 7 minutes to pass the transceiver component of the aspirant exam he will be taking in Alaska in late April early May.
That evening after dinner we got together to plan the next day's tour. We poured over weather forecasts paying particular attention to the 850 millibar pressure maps to get a handle on the wind at about 5 to 6000 feet that would accompany and follow the incoming storm. Forecasts indicated that the storm would have strong SSE winds at the start of the storm then have a period of calm before shifting to the W. The timing of this calm period was forecasted for around midday Thursday. We made a plan to climb up to the top of a S or SE facing gully via a route that would not be exposed to an avalanche hazard so we could check out the start zone to see if the gully was skiable. If we felt that the hazard was to great we could return by the route we had taken up or by some other safer alternative. The gully we chose to investigate was Lobster Claw. Once we picked our objective we found a route up that would provide a good tour. Our uptrack would provide a good alternative descent as well.
The next morning saw about 8-10 inches of new snow and while we climbed a few more inches of snow fell making the total about a foot as we arrived at the top of Lobster Claw. As we checked out the start zone we found considerably less snow for the first 150 feet of the gully, the SSE wind had scoured the start zone somewhat. As Steve descended the snow got deeper as the gully lowered in angle but the stability remained good. We leapfrogged the gully down getting some of the best powder skiing I have ever had on Mount Washington. We continued down the Little Headwall where we saw tracks for the first time all day. As we looked at the snow before descending the little headwall we found the same snow quality and stability we had found in Lobster Claw. After a rest at the Hermit Lake Shelter's deck in warm calm conditions we headed down the Sherburne Trail. The Sherburne had been skied quite a bit but was in excellent condition.
After reflecting on the day I realize how a unique combination of events had created such an excellent ski day. First was the track of the storm that created a southerly flow during the precipitation along with the calm as the center of the low crested right over the mountain at midday, that combined with fit well trained partners made this day possible.
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Tuesday February 17, 2009
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Bob low
down in Right Gully |
The last ten days have been pretty busy, when I was not guiding I was working on updating my AIARE Level 2 Avalanche Course. I will be teaching two Level 2 courses in late March, the first course is full but the second one still has space in it.
On Saturday Feb. 7th Ed, Bob Keith and I climbed up Right Gully in Tuckerman Ravine to the summit of Mount Washington. It was a great day with good conditions. This climb was before the rain we got and the snow was soft with a good boot ladder up Right Gully. After summiting we headed down the East Snowfields via a glissade to the top of Lobster Claw Gully AKA Right of Right which we also glissaded.
On Sunday February 8th Paul, Dave and Greg had wanted to do a snow climb in Huntington. They wanted a good cramponing gully with some sections of ice. Given that the conditions snow climbing would be bucket steps like I had up Right Gully the day before and on top of that with the wind was forecasted to be at or near 100mph we worked out another plan After a discussion on Saturday night we decided to do some ice climbing at Frankenstein. All three had gym experience but none had ice climbed. We started at the Trestle Practice Slabs to cover technique then we headed to Standard Route. As is typical, Standard had parties on it but we were able to climb the right side in one pitch to above the Cave then rappel. Once we got back down the normal route up Standard was open so we climbed up that combining the first two pitches in one then finishing up the last pitch. I will be climbing again with Paul, Dave and Greg in early March and I hope the conditions in Huntington are good so we can do a nice long climb there.
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Ray skinning up a 4000 footer on Friday the 13th the day after the rain! |
My midweek was slow from the point of view of field work but I spent a fair amount of time in front of my computer getting my Level 2 course updated. I was also pouring over Internet weather sites and forecast models because of the warm spell and rain that was predicted for Thursday February 12th. The reason I was so concerned about the forecast was because I was scheduled to ski with Ray on Friday the 13th. The result of the storm was rain over most of the White Mountains with mixed precipitation and snow on the summit of Mount Washington. Once the storm got off the coast cold air blew in on winds that reached 100mph on Mount Washington on Friday. With conditions like that the skiing was not looking good. As I studied the forecast I noticed some forecasters were predicting 4-6 inches of snow on the Northwest slope of the White Mountains. I realized that this orographic uplift snow was likely to hit the ski descent I had done on February 6th. As I checked the radar on Thursday night low and behold there was snow falling on the 4000 footer that had that nice birch glade. Friday morning I met Ray and told him of my plan. This time instead of climbing up the way we were going to ski down I decided to take a trail up the northeast side of the mountain then descend the northwest facing slope where the glade was. As we climbed the snow was getting better and better till we had about 6 inches of powder on a solid edgable base. When we started our descent I could see that the rain had smoothed the slope out and I could barely see my tracks from the previous week. This created a beautiful untracked powder run through the glades.
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Peter on his lead of the 2nd pitch of Standard |
This past holiday weekend I climbed with Paige and Peter. They had done a little ice climbing before so we started on Bob's Delight on Saturday where we enjoyed the warm sunshine of that protected climb on what was a pretty blustery day. After working on technique there, we headed into the Amphitheater and climbed Pegasus Rock Finish, Pegasus and Chia. On Sunday Peter wanted to try his hand at leading so we did a little clinic on some small bulges then headed over to Standard. Again it was pretty busy so we did a climb of the far right side of the flow then rappelled off. Once we got back to the ground Standard had cleared off and I lead up the center to the Cave. The second pitch was Peter's lead and he did a great job. I lead the last pitch and we called it a day. Yesterday we started early and headed right to Chia so Peter could lead that route. Peter did a great job of leading Chia. After finishing that Paige and I reclimbed Pegasus Rock Finish and then Peter top roped Hobbit Couloir. We capped off the day with Peter leading another pitch, this time he lead up the 1st pitch of Hobbit Couloir up to the bolts then he and Paige organized the rappel and we headed out.
Although we had rain on Thursday the conditions are real good at Frankenstein and the skiing is getting better, with snow predicted for Wednesday and Thursday the skiing should get even better. Mount Washington may have elevated avalanche hazard this coming weekend but once that calms down we could get some pretty good skiing. The storm should also keep the ice in good condition. All in all we are at the heart of winter and things are looking pretty good whether you are swinging ice tools or sliding on skis!
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Friday February 6, 2009
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Jeff skinning up an old road |
On most days when I go skiing I head up to Mount Washington so I can see what the conditions are and try to get into the alpine zone to ski. The other day as I was heading up onto Mount Washington I met a friend of mine and we started talking about skiing. He mentioned a ski descent off of a 4000 footer that he had done a few days earlier. I had heard about this ski descent and had even tried to find it once a long time ago but got nowhere. After a few minutes talking with my friend I quickly realized how to get to this secret run and decided I would go for a look some day soon and today ended up being that day.
The descent follows an old road dropping 2000+ feet in about 2.5 miles from the summit of a 4000 footer. Since the snow conditions are pretty good this season, particularly in the woods this was a good time to give this ski descent a try. A substantial section of this descent is through a birch glade and when the snow is good it is some of the best backcountry tree skiing in NH that I have done.
After a couple hour ascent Jay, Jeff and I reached the summit and prepared for the descent. What we got was a very nice ski down through some powder tree skiing. We had a great time today enjoying some nice snow and some great weather skiing in the trees.
I apologize for not talking about specifics but if I did that for these type of local secrets I would risk being shutout from the word of mouth info. All I can say about how to find these places is to ski a lot in the backcountry and get into the growing community of those who get out there on skis and soon you'll be told of these places by your skiing friends. That word of mouth system is not just to save the snow but it also adds to the adventure and keeps these places special when you do get to come across them.
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Monday February 2, 2009
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Jeff topping out on the 2nd pitch of Standard at Frankenstein |
Early last week I got a call from Jeff to see if I had Friday free to climb. Fortunately I had Friday open so we were able to climb. Jeff had never climbed before, neither rock nor ice and not even at a gym. He had previously snowshoed to Arethusa Falls and down the railroad tracks at Frankenstein and had seen climbers and that had sparked his interest. So after a busy week at work he decided to make the call and give ice climbing a try.
We started our day getting boots and equipment together then headed to Frankenstein. After a little instruction at the Practice Slab we headed over to Standard Route. Jeff was taking to climbing really well and he felt comfortable with the rope as a fall protection system so height didn't have a large impact on his abilities so a long route was a good way to cap off his first day of climbing. After finishing the first two pitches of the Standard Route we rappelled down and headed back to the car.
This weekend I was teaching a two day avalanche course. It was interesting digging into the snow these past few avalanches courses because we have a unique snowpack for this area. Two things are different this year from most seasons. The most significant difference from a snow stability perspective is the lack of a thaw and/or rain so far this season. The second difference has been the number of storms that have not had much wind after them. The wind however has been blowing pretty good of late so that has been getting more like normal but there is still quite a bit of snow left in the fetches and that snow will likely get transported to the avalanche start zones at some point this season.
When I dig into this snowpack the lack of a thaw or rain is apparent by the lack of crusts. Although crusts can cause problems in a snowpack, their formation often means there has been a period of warm temperatures. Those warm temperatures tend to produce rounding of the snow grains and that can often lead to a strong stable snowpack. Another impact of a crust is that it can act as a bridge that can limit the amount a skier can affect deeper layers. Crusts also add tensile strength to the snowpack and that can limit the ability of a skier or climber propagating a crack. A bigger picture way of looking at the unique snowpack this season is that it may act in a similarly unusual way. In other words, past experience may not be as reliable a way to make decisions since we are dealing with a snowpack that few if anyone have ever seen in this area. The bottom line is when things are different expect the unexpected.
This unique snowpack has some benefits however; it has created some very good skiing. Jay and I had been looking at the weather and conditions and made ski plans for today. We got to Pinkham around 8:30 this morning and started skinning up to the Gulf of Slides. Once we arrived at the base of the gulf we were happy to see that there was virtually no ridgetop blowing snow. With this info we were pretty confident that there was a low risk of naturally triggered avalanches. This is important because of the need to climb up below a start zone in this area due to the thick vegetation on the ridge lines. We decided to climb up Gully #3. As we climbed we found good stability above the avalanche debris that had likely been formed from the avalanche cycle last week. We stopped a couple hundred linear feet from the top because the snow did not appear to be very good for skiing higher up. The ski down Gully #3 was a good one and the Gulf of Slides Ski Trail was challenging due to the tracks of previous skiers but was still quite fun. All in all it was a great ski day.
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© Chauvin Guides International, P.O. Box 2151, North Conway, NH 03860 Voice: 603-356-8919