January 13-15, 2015, Rogers, Three Pass Traverse

We took advantage of some decent weather and ok stability to get after a small traverse. The three pass traverse goes over Balu Pass, Catamount, and out to the shoulder of McGill. We had a long day on the 12th skiing Sapphire Col and the Dome so we didn't manage to get everything ready for the trip until 10:00am on the 13th. After all was said and done we were on the trail at the crack of noon. We made it to the Col on Catamount in the last dribs of alpine glow. A good sized wind lip made for a good place to dig out a spacious snow cave. In the flat morning light we Skied down Catamount Glacier and Creek. I was apprehensive about Catamount Creek due to the below average snowfall below treeline, but the skiing down the creek was some of the best of the trip. Lots of pillowy goodness down that creek. We made camp on the slopes of wolverine ridge and skied one of the many burn patches along the east facing slopes of that range. For the last day we made another run in the burn and made our way out to McGill. Fairly uneventful skinning except for the constant stream of spin drift coming from the summit of Bagheera to valley bottom.

Snow Conditions: Great snow in all sheltered locations except for below treeline solar aspects. Moderate wind effect in the alpine. Large surface hoar everywhere, even up to Catamount Col. Luckily the sun was out and the wind was blowing today so hopefully the alpine is spared the scourge. Treeline elevations will have another large surface hoar layer to contend with after this next storm.

The Bostock drainage is fairing better then the rest of the pass with its low elevation snowpack with good coverage down to 1350-1300m.