Brian Webster and I were out installing weather stations yesterday and flew
across from Sunshine to Kootenay National Park and back. At the top of
Divide at Sunshine there was about 30 cm of snow with some drifting going
on. There is a hard crust that caries in most places and someone had skied
the upper slope on Divide chair and it looked like OK skiing. In Kootenay
the snowpack was slightly less and there has been more melting. There have
been numerous avalanches size 1-2 on the northerly aspects of Mt. Shanks
and the Monarch. A combination of thin slab and moist loose that seemed to
be running on a crust about 20cm below the most recent snow. Many of these
ran down in to the upper runouts where there was no snowpack leaving brown
piles of wet debris.
Brad White
Mountain Safety Programs Specialist
IFMGA
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These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The
ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in
continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable
nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information
provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions
Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field.
Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.
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