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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