Hi all,
I had a great day ski touring guiding in the WH2O backcountry today. Due to the ongoing storm, moderate to strong west winds and "High" avalanche hazard forecast we opted to ski in well protected trees at tree line.
So far, the storm has brought 15 to 25cm of light density snow that is bonding poorly to the January 12th surface hoar layer. We observed widespread cracking and sluffing on anything steeper than 30 degrees or where the wind had created a very soft slab. We did not see any deeper layers reacting to this new load today however we heard some large avalanches across the valley on steeper north facing avalanche paths with alpine start zones.
The local weather is calling for 20 to 30 cm of new snow every day for the next few days with rising freezing level and strong southwesterly ridge top winds, chances are that we will see some of the deeper previously buried weak layers become active again. If so, there could potentially be a climax avalanche cycle with avalanches running full path and beyond the historical boundaries. Given the current snow pack and weather forecast, the ski resort looks appealing for the next few days.
Enjoy the storm and be safe!
Cheers,
David Lussier
ACMG-IFMGA Mountain Guide
www.summitmountainguides.com
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