Death Canyon

This observation goes out to the hardy souls who consider ice climbing in the Tetons. We walked up Death Canyon to the base of Prospector Falls which is a relatively popular Teton ice climb at ~7,900’. An inch or two of very low-density snow had fallen overnight. We encountered snow depths of about 6-8” for the majority of the hike in, however, conditions changed noticeably during the last several hundred feet of the approach. We found localized pockets of wind loaded snow several feet deep which were confined to small gully features. Snow depths increased to almost 5 feet (1.5m) in some places upon reaching the apron below the climb. Here, we observed an old, unreactive wind slab about 8” thick at the surface. Despite not being a concern at the time, it was a good reminder that slabs form easily on aprons due to snow deposition from above and often windy conditions created by the rugged surrounding terrain.

Given the 1-2” of new snow, our other avalanche concern was dry loose activity (sluffs) initiating in the rocky terrain above and funneling into the climb. This is a common avalanche hazard that impacts terrain where ice climbs are located. Even small amounts of moving snow can result in dangerous sluffs when they funnel into confined features like gullies. Cloudy and relatively cold conditions kept the loose dry activity in check, although we did observe one significant loose dry sluff during a brief break in the clouds.

Snow conditions and avalanche hazard can change rapidly when traveling through terrain that is often associated with ice climbs (gullies, couloirs, etc.). One minute you may be walking on rock and the next you may find yourself dealing with a waist deep snowpack that is capable of producing an avalanche. Being able to adjust ones avalanche risk assessment quickly based on conditions, as well as identifying terrain features of concern are important when getting out and scratching around on the ice.

We observed one significant loose dry sluff initiate in steep cliffy terrain during a brief break in the clouds.