Last week's terrible weather brought down large avalanches just in time
for a CAA Level I course. I'm sure glad they weren't here to ski! Now
things are cooling down and the 16 December surface hoar layer is well
squashed and bridged under 30 to 60 cm of hard and heavy crusts. We are
back to our usual pattern of concern about storm snow only. Of that
there is a bit, and the skiing has also markedly improved. While the
snowpack in the valley bottom is still a bit shallow at 175 cm, I found
more than 350 cm at the toe of the Solitaire Glacier. I could not see
the crevasse zones on the Loft and Burnie Glaciers, but suspect that
they are now well covered. There was no widespread avalanching in the
alpine, so I think that the surface hoar was destroyed there before it
got buried. Good times are here again.
--
Christoph Dietzfelbinger
IFMGA/ UIAGM Mountain Guide - Bear Mountaineering and the Burnie Glacier Chalet
Box 4222 Smithers, B.C. V0J 2N0 Canada
tel. 250-847-3351/ fax 250-847-2854
info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx www.bearmountaineering.ca
_______________________________________________
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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