[MCR] Selkirk Mtns-Mount Cartier-Ghost Peak Apr 22-23 2011

Subject: [MCR] Selkirk Mtns-Mount Cartier-Ghost Peak Apr 22-23 2011
Date: Tue, 26 Apr 2011 11:17:27 -0700
Just spent a couple of days this past weekend in the Mount Cartier- Ghost Peak area SE of the Revelstoke Mountain Resort. We skied out in the late afternoon of Saturday April 23rd, so this information is a few days old.

We found a variety of conditions: Good powder snow on true North aspects down to 2000m. Windslabs at ridge tops and below. Temperature/ suncrusts on all solar aspects. On these aspects, we found 5cm of moist/wet snow on the surface sitting on a 3-4cm supportive crust (before it got cooked and too weak to support the weight of a skier).

We backed off our larger objective (NE face of Cartier) due to windslabs on big convex features but found excellent powder on several North facing slopes as well as good corn on E and S aspects.

Some moist point releases had triggered thin slab avalanches to sz 2 on East aspects. The day before our arrival, a party of skiers had triggered a sz 1.5 avalanche, 20-30cm deep on a SW aspect, 40 degrees steep.

Our main concerns were very large cornices, windslabs and multiple crusts buried on solar aspects. We skied up to 40 degrees slopes on North aspect.

Surface hoar to 4mm was observed Sunday morning. These crystals were destroyed by the sun during the day on solar aspects but may have remained intact on North slopes at higher elevation and could have been buried by yesterday snow showers.

The ski out from our camp between Mt Cartier and Ghost Peak to the RMR boundary took 3.5hrs and is truly a spectacular tour on a high ridge affording breathtaking views of the Monashees and Selkirk Mountains.

We found this area challenging as it presents big, steep and complex terrain that can be difficult to avoid. Conditions need to be favourable and a great deal of experience is required to navigate safely through this big mountain terrain.

Sylvain Hebert
ACMG Ski Guide



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