[MCR] Hummingbird Pass, Whitewater ski hill area, Southern Selkirk Mount

Subject: [MCR] Hummingbird Pass, Whitewater ski hill area, Southern Selkirk Mountains
Date: Sun, 01 Dec 2013 21:32:49 -0800
I conducted the field day portion of an AST1 course today in the Hummingbird Pass area near the Whitewater ski hill. These are a few observations from the day.

When we arrived at the parking area at 8AM, we found about 17cm of new snow had been deposited by the storm overnight. The snowfall continued for most of the day and another 2-3cm was laid down by the afternoon. I'd say there was a healthy 20cm of new snow on the ground by the time we got back to the cars at 4PM. And, it was still snowing lightly when we left. The forecast is for this to continue through tonight and part of tomorrow. There was little wind throughout the day and I couldn't hear any up higher on the ridges either.

There was about 1m of snow on the ground most everywhere we went and the coverage over rocks, stumps and fallen trees is minimal at this low elevation. The rain crust from mid-November was around 60cm down and the crust from late October was about 15cm up from the ground. It was difficult to test the bonds on and around these crusts as the pits I dug were on level ground. It will be interesting to see what the additional load from the storm snow of today and tomorrow does to the stability. I think we could see some natural avalanche activity tonight and tomorrow, perhaps failing on these crusts.

We didn't gain much elevation (max 1600m) and the visibility didn't allow us to see much of the ridges up higher, so no natural avalanche activity was observed (not say that there wasn't any, just couldn't see). In the pass, we observed some point releases and sloughs off the cliffs.

The temperature was around -2C for the day. It was the kind of temperature that felt colder than it really was. Didn't take long to start getting that damp, cold feeling.

Although the snowpack is building, the coverage at lower elevations is minimal, so any sliding activities would best be done cautiously to avoid any mishaps. If I were going out again tomorrow, I'd be treading lightly and avoiding serious avalanche terrain. This storm could push the snowpack to the tipping point and produce a natural avalanche cycle.

Thanks to my keen and attentive students, we had a great day exploring the snow.

Craig Hollinger,
ACMG Assistant Ski Guide.
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