Skied in the Hermit today, January 7.
We saw a well settled snowpack in the area we were in. We probed at 2000m and
couldn't feel
the Dec 5 crust, but did feel a slight weakness at 120 cm down in a 200cm deep
snowpack. Digging
at 2200 m in a morainal feature (our high point) found 165 cm, the upper
snowpack settling well,
Fist resistance at the top slowly strengthening to 1 Finger 80 cm down. Then
there was a 3cm layer
of 1 Finger minus snow with larger grains (this must be the Dec 5 layer) before
the snow became 1
Finger plus. No significant weak layers were felt with probing below this. No
shears were found,
except for some resistant ones near the surface in the soft snow.
No cracking or whumpfing. There was what looked like a recent small size 2 off
steep cliffs,
possible cornice triggered. It did not run far downslope.
There has been wind effect on the ridges and I can see this being a problem if
these slabs were
overtop the low density recent storm snow. These areas seemed pretty obvious to
us and easy to
avoid in this sheltered basin.
Mark Klassen
IFMGA/ACMG Mountain Guide
_______________________________________________
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.
|