Just finished 6 days snowcat supported ski touring in the Western side of the
Monashees, north of the Trans Canada Highway. As I am sure everyone on the
planet has heard, conditions are still tricky there and triggering large
avalanches on surface hoar down approximately 1 meter is still a grave concern.
Conditions seem slightly better in this neighbourhood than elsewhere in the
Columbias. LOTS of observations of the snowpack have kept us comfortable skiing
on some moderately steep south facing terrain where we know there are some sun
crusts up to 8 cms thick above the surface hoar layers. We are only skiing this
terrain one at a time after cold clear nights and before the full heat of the
day and the sun is on them. This may change if the forecast for snow is correct.
North and east facing terrain still has us spooked, especially during the
recent warm spells. The weak layers are still there above 1400m but in all our
observations are buried by a sufficiently strong and widespread slab. That is
why we have stopped getting whumphs and cracking. This only means that the slab
is harder to trigger but the consequences remain catastrophic. On these aspects
in our neighbourhood, the alpine is generally less of a concern than treeline.
I believe I have never so consistently and continuously used safety measures to
spread out my load on the terrain.
It is a bit like hanging around with a polar bear tied up with 7mm cord. You
want to see it cut loose from far away and it is definitely uncool to poke at
it.
Having said all this we have been having some excellent skiing and been
cautiously exploring some big new terrain on the cold days and pulling in on
the reins during the warmth.
Larry Stanier
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
laristan@xxxxxxxxx
_______________________________________________
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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