Hi all,

Stephen Senecal & I attempted a climb on the north face of Gimli yesterday Oct 31, 2019.

We managed to drive right up to the regular Gimli Trailhead (1700m). There was about 30cm on the ground there. We used the summer trail to access the Gimli col and observed about 50-60cm of snow at treeline and about 90cm in the alpine. Skis made for easier travel from treeline onward however the skiing conditions were poor.

We saw evidence of recent wind affect and ongoing wind transport in the Alpine with moderate winds from the Northwest. Some solar aspects had a variable sun crust well into the Alpine. A snowpack test at 2500m on a North aspect showed 90 cm of generally faceted snow overlying previous firn snow on pocket glacier. No repeatable shears were observed however, an old 5cm thick melt-freeze crust above a thin soft facet layer was noted near the bottom of the snowpack in this location.

Barely enough snow to ski in the alpine and not enough coverage below that. Walking in uneven snowpack areas of the alpine was tedious with unpredictable post-holing conditions. The mixed line we were interested in prove too thin an unprotectable, hence why we bailed on pitch 2.

All in all, a lot pain for very little gain! Still fun to exercise and get out there to enjoy Nature.

Cheers,

David Lussier
ACMG Mountain Guide
summitmountainguides.com