Finished off the summer season with a trip to the Bow hut with the College of the Rockies Golden campus last week from October 11-16

There was thin snow at the toe of the glacier and average 30cm starting at 2800m and up to 60cm in wind loaded zones.
We observed some point release avalanches up to size 1.5 on solar aspects when the sun had enough intensity. None had pulled out slabs.

Overall the bond on the glacier was good and a thin crust helped travel significantly.

As the theme of the summer was very dry the crevasses are as big as they’ve ever been since the ice ages of history and usual travel corridors will take lots of time to fill in.

We traveled to Rhonda lower bench and the St. Nic/Olive col on the south east side and avoided any complex broken zones.
Discipline will be key on The Wapta until the snow accumulates much more and the winds fills the slots.
Tuning up crevasse rescue skills could be a great way to pass the transition to short days.

Pictures only scratch the surface.
Roping up is a must 👍

Wishing everyone a happy autumn season.

Merrie-Beth Board
Mountain Guide