Skied up Fortitude Ridge yesterday, and down the first major slide path
from the ridge crest into Flat Creek. A profile just below the ridge
showed easy planar shears down 10cm and 30cm, a moderate shear down 55cm,
and a hard shear down110cm. The layer down 10 was forming a soft slab
which cracked and propagated 5-10 meters from our skis, causing significant
sluffing in steep terrain. We skied a conservative line on the edge of the
path, which still required sluff management.
Yesterday, a skier on Cheops (hourglass) triggered the same layer. He was
caught but was able to ski out of it. The slide ran 300m to valley bottom.
There was a significant natural cycle on this layer throughout Glacier park
throughout the day.
Today as of 8am, we have another 20-30 cm load on this layer, increasing
the likelihood and consequences of skier triggered avalanches.
Sylvia Forest
Mountain Guide
Alpine Specialist
MRGNP
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