Joe McKay Dec. 4, Parkway

 

December 4:

These Photo’s are courtesy of the boys and girls in the Banff and Jasper Public Safety team. They are intended to inform climbers of local conditions please do not use for commercial use. They (the boys and girls) are a great resource for avalanche and climbing information. It is a real privilege to receive them and be able to pass on to interested parties. Things have been colder the last couple days so a few wounds will be healed. Warm temps return tomorrow so not much is going to change. Actually not a lot has changed but these photo’s are more recent.
In the Rumour Mill: I heard that Whitman's is in great shape but you have to do some wild rock climbing to get to the falls as the approach is melted out. It’s a sketch fest going up right and I remember going up left of the melted out section not being much better.
Nemesis: Suppose to be in great shape


I thought that I would add a climbing tips that work for me with up coming mail outs. Stick around and we will start a online avalanche course over the winter in a language that climbers can understand. With interesting subjects like “Vapour pressure how is that different from peer pressure” or “How to tell a facet from a faucet” or “Surface Hoar more than a hooker with no personality” and much more. Not that we are going to have to worry about it for a while as there is no snow in the forecast.

How to cut a sling without a knife.

You ever find yourself on a big icefall and have to built a Abalakov (Ice  hour Glass). It is about then that you realise that “Bear Killer” your blade is either in your pack or stuck in the back of your best friend. To poor or too cheap too  to leave a whole 5 meters of sling or Prussik cord. Here is how I cut a sling quicker than you can rummage threw the 22 pockets in the five layers of clothing you have on.

  1. Take your ice tool (two hammers work best so best borrow your buddies hammer if your not climbing with two) place the tool in the ice so that it is sunk to the hilt and won’t wobble around.
  2. Pick out that piece of material that needs cutting
  3. Lay the material over the edge of the hammer
  4. Whack said material good and hard 3 or 4 times in the same place (repeat as necessary)

Placing  the sling over the edge of a rock works just as well, of course the sharper the edge the better.

Next issue I will teach you how to build a Abalakov (Ice  hour Glass) without that fancy $10 hook thing or wire retrieval device of any kind. Just the things that God wanted you to climb with. Which would be me and the usual climbing gear.


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Keep your stick on the ice and your crampons sharp.
Joe McKay