Joe McKay Dec. 9 2002
Alpine Spam #6/Slipstream/Echo Madness/Resident Evil/Weeping Wall
Echo Madness: It is quite the stumble into this thing but under it's
present
condition well worth the effort. Spectacular location with the symphony of
ice in a natural concert hall. The slopes are well supported at the moment.
There are times when this route would be suicidal under the wrong avalanche
conditions. At present there is about 60 cm's HS (Height of Snow) Top 10-15
cm bullet proof melt freeze crust (Knife) the rest is a mixture of crust
with about a 1 finger density. Bottom 10cm large facets with 4 finger
density. Slope on the upper bench is about 40 – 45 degrees. A very small
cornice straight above but not looking all that threatening. About
as
bomber as it can get till the next snow fall or cold temps facet out the mid
pack. “ Can you say “worlds biggest snowboard”
Slipstream: The route has seen some traffic the last little while. It
would
be reasonably safe to extrapolate (but a dumb thing to count on) the
above
snow pack to slipstream as they are similar elevations and aspects. Looking
through binoculars it would seem that the route is in the best shape it has
been in years. Objective hazards on this route are extreme to say the least.
The lower part of the route is exposed to falling ice by as many as three or
four gullies.
I phoned up a friend ...(lets call him “Paul” just because anybody who knows
me, knows I wouldn’t hang around with somebody with a stupid name like
“Paul” That seems like a safe name to use)... so I phone up “Paul” and
ask
him if he wanted to do slipstream. “Don’t do slipstream” says Paul. No
hesitation in his voice. Says he would feel pretty stupid at the Pearly
Gates if he got killed. I explained to him that the reason wouldn’t be “Slip
Stream” that they didn’t let him in, it would be because of all the
“stupid
shit” he done earlier. Slipstream was just the cherry on the sundae. I
explained how good the conditions were. Had him wavering but in the end
common sense prevailed. Apparently he had a cross word puzzle that was
giving him some trouble and he felt he needed to get that done first. I can
respect that. I also have decided that I have better things to do with my
time than hang out under some ice cap soloing endless miles of grade three
ice only to get slowed down by solid grade 4 pitch's. And if I did survive
the quicksand and mortar shells I could count on a long, long night out on a
wind swept glacier at –20 finding out that there are “worse things than
dieing”.
Having said that I would take a serious look at the route description. It is
more of a high end mountaineering objective. Just because you don't break a
sweat on the "French Maid" doesn't mean this route is for you. Be
honest
with yourself. Would you recognize a mid pack instability if it stared you
in the face, you prepared for a open bivi on the glacier at 10,000 feet with
-20 temps and some wind. If you answered yes to any of these, have good look
at the things you love the most ..that nagging wife... the ugly kids with
the milkman's eyes ... your goldfish...your right hand... Whatever it is
that makes it worth getting up in the morning, if you want to keep that
routine going you may not want to do “Slipstream”. If your doing the route
to make a name for yourself you will. On the second page of the Calgary
Herald. Slipstream has probably killed more climbers than all the other ice
routes combined!!
Weeping Wall: Just starting to get ice on it but could melt with upcoming
temps..
Mixed Master: No show this year.
Ole Tabernac: No conventional means of ascent and won’t be for awhile
Crowfoot Falls: Looks good but a lot of objective hazard on this route.
Slipstream Shots:
