Great turns today at Bow Summit on a very quiet Saturday.
We had overcast, calm conditions all day with temperatures between -5
and -3C. We found storm snow accumulations of 45-50cm this morning on
a 190cm snowpack with steady light snowfall producing 5cm fresh by
mid-afternoon.
Despite area reports of "upside down" snow, we found only isolated
pockets of this with mostly excellent skiing on "right-side up" low
density powder in sheltered areas below 2400m. At this elevation,
wind effect began to become more obvious with some soft slabbing
starting in isolated lee and crossloaded pockets, so we avoided these
features and did not venture beyond treeline. Other than that, we saw
no natural avalanche activity (though visibility was limited) or
other signs of instabilities. A test pit at 2400m (treeline) yielded
a low-end moderate resistant planar shear down 30cm in the storm
snow, and a very hard, resistant result down ~70cm where the old
surface is still bonding with the wind effected new snow.
By day's end the road and most of the parking lot had had a visit by
Mr. Plough.
Despite doing our best today, with only 3 parties out, there are
still plenty of fresh tracks to be had!
Carl Johnston
AAG, RG
Nick Rapaich
ASG, AAG
_______________________________________________
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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