[MCR] Rogers Pass Conditions

Subject: [MCR] Rogers Pass Conditions
Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:18:27 -0800
We just spent the last 4 days skiing at the pass and thought I'd pass on some info since there hasn't been any recent reports.

Friday night it had snowed about 35-40 cms of very light density snow with no obvious signs of wind at ridge top or in the alpine. This new snow was overlaying 1 finger resistance snow. We didn't see any new avalanches but the park reported a number of size 1 to 2.5 slides triggered by artillery control along the highway corridor. We weren't experiencing any instabilities while out that day other than the surface snow power sloughing in steeper terrain.The ski quality was outstanding at all elevations.

The temperatures remained cold enough to keep the new snow preserved into sunday and an additional 5-10 cms of new snow fell overnight. The snow felt slightly stiffer (top 5cms) but not yet slabbing up and we were able to ski steep tree line terrain without too much concern. Out test profile confirmed our confidence in the snowpack as we didn't see any significant weaknesses(where we were). The only avalanches we saw in steep alpine terrain were loose size 1's. We didn't ski in the alpine on Sunday but we suspected there could be some soft slabs on lee features.

Conditions (and stability) are likely to change so be sure to check the avalanche bulletin before heading out.

Cheers,


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