Quick report
- Cracking
- specific
- Collapsing
- specific
Climbed Shoestring Gully on Mt Webster, Crawford Notch as a party of 2. Tracks from the parties who climbed the day before were visible lots of areas but completely drifted over in others. We noted two serious avalanche concerns. The first and most significant was just after the first WI2 ice step and before the actual first WI3 pitch. This part of the gully was completely snowed in several feet deep. The top layer was very soft (3-4 in thick) and supported by a firm middle layer (2-3 inches thick) resting on a deep layer of old, soft powder. We caused multiple cracks the full width of the gully by trying to climb along the edge of the gully. We felt a wrong step towards the middle of the gully would cause the top layers to release. The volume of snow was not significant enough to cause burial, but it could sweep climbers off their feet and over the lower WI2 step below. A similar situation occurred above the last ice step up to the smaller gully on the right side for the WI3+ alternate finish. This snow was noticeably firmer, but we still punched through the layers and felt instability. No cracking was observed in this area. It is unlikely this trend continued above the alternate finish gully to the top out, but we did not go this way. Slope angle is lesser here though, and we saw tracks from previous parties that were not filled in yet. All in all, I don’t believe this should prevent anyone from climbing the route, but they should be conscious and aware of the hazard, and able to read the mountain and react appropriately. It is probably best to climb in the woods around the lower avy hazard, but if not you can probably skirt the edges to avoid. Don’t have another party below you when you traverse these sections.
Weather
- Air Temp
- -5
- Cloud Cover
- few
- Wind Loading
- moderate
- Recent Snowfall
- 2-6
Very cold and very windy up the gully. Snow from the day before covered most tracks and deposited lots of drifts and wind slabs in specific sections of the gully.