West rockies Fraser Pass, Mallard Lodge

Avalanche

amannpeterr ยท Jan 13, 2023

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Observation photo 1

Quick report

Weather
cloudy
Ride Type
mellowSlopes, denseTrees, openTrees
Stayed Away
convexSlopes, alpineSlopes, steepSlopes
Riding Quality
good
Snow Conditions
powder

Skied for 4 days from Mallard Lodge. First group in this year. The snowpack was supportive mostly, but still weak, more shallow, and with more ground features and rocks still exposed. We found good skiing and travel conditions in most placesl. We approached even more simple terrain with caution, often one at a time. The snowpack at treeline was 110cm, usally at this time of year it is about 170cm.

Weather

Wind Speed
windSpeedLight
Blowing Snow
none
Sky Condition
brokenClouds
Wind Direction
SW
Precipitation Type
snow

In general over the 4 days temps ranged from -5 at night to +2 during the day. No strong solar affect noted yet,

Snowpack

Depth
109
Obs Type
summary
Site Aspect
N
Test Fracture
resistant
Site Elevation
1960
Ski Penetration
15
Test Initiation
moderate
Test Failure Depth
20
Site Elevation Band
tln
Surface Conditions
newSnow
Whumpfing Observed
1
Test Failure Layer Crystal Types
surfaceHoar, facets

Easy CT's in top 20cm but HST was still non cohesive. CTH on top of Nov crust. The snowpack is quite variable with many ground features still of concern, especially in flat light. This region did not get much from this last cycle, just a little bit to far north.

Avalanche

Run Length
100
Slab Width
20
Trigger Type
natural
Wind Exposure
leeSlope
Avalanche Size
1.5
Slab Thickness
20
Start Zone Aspect
NE
Vegetation Cover
openSlope
Avalanche Character
stormSlab
Number Of Avalanches
2-5
Weak Layer Burial Date
2023-01-03
Avalanche Observation
moreThan48hrsAgo
Weak Layer Crystal Type
surfaceHoar
Start Zone Elevation Band
tln
Avalanche Occurrence Datetime
2023-01-07T16:58:00.000Z

Several older storm slabs still discernible, sizes range from 1-2 but no signs of any deep instabilities on flight in or out. Only noted one whumph over our stay.