[MCR] Hermit/Puff Daddy-Roger Pass-Jan 31st-2012

Hi all,

Today we enjoy some amazing deep powder skiing in the Hermit meadows and Puff Daddy areas of Rogers Pass. We skied between the 2000m and 1300m, had cloudy skies with the odd sunny breaks and temperatures ranging from -2 to -9 Celsius.

We observed only a few signs of instabilities in this area today. Minor cracking and shearing down 70cm was observed near the edges of unsupported pillows. Some of the steeper convex rolls we dared skiing cracked but did not shear. Test results revealed Moderate to Hard resistant planar shears down 70cm. There was some evidence of previous avalanche activity out of steeper alpine and treeline terrain from a few days ago in this area. These avalanches, ranging from size 1 to 2.5, were covered with upwards of 20cm of new snow. We did not see any new avalanches.

Our main concerns were overhead hazard, the significant recent loading of the snowpack and windslabs above treeline. We opted to minimize our exposure while skiing mainly supported treeline and below treeline terrain.

Hoping you all get to enjoy these outstanding mid winter conditions!

Cheers,

David Lussier
ACMG-IFMGA Mountain Guide
www.summitmountainguides.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Summit-Mountain-Guides/118834778142539

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