Skiing in the Fernie ski area "near country" for the last week. When
I left there was still a fair amount of wind effect on all aspects
due to the southerly winds during the storm and northerly winds when
the arctic air moved in. These variable winds formed atypical loading
patterns, leaving bits of hard wind slab all over the place. However,
these slabs never seemed very reactive to skis and only large loads
such as cornice falls were triggering them earlier in the week. That
said, there were large cornices looming over most NE slopes. When I
left on Saturday the thinking was that the wind slabs were weakening
with the cold temperatures and that they are less likely to propagate
as a result.
In some north aspect areas there was also a surface hoar layer buried
about 70cm down that was generally unreactive to tests. South slopes
had plenty of buried crusts. The November crust was not widespread in
Fernie and as a result the area was not included in the recent CAA
avalanche warning.
We were avoiding areas with large cornices above, thinner snowpack
areas, and unsupported terrain.
Mark Klassen
Mountain Guide
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