Plewman Mountain East

Quick report

Weather

sunny

Ride Type

cutBlocks, denseTrees, mellowSlopes, openTrees, sunnySlopes

Stayed Away

alpineSlopes

Riding Quality

ok

Snow Conditions

crusty, hard, windAffected

Avalanche Conditions

avalancheConditionTemp

Cold morning conditions promoted the formation of large surface hoar at lower elevations, while higher elevations showed a surface of rounded grains. A temperature inversion was observed, with warmer temperatures at higher elevations. The snow surface was predominantly a firm crust, with slight warming and surface softening on solar aspects later in the afternoon. A 115 cm snowpit was excavated. Primary layers of interest were identified at 10 cm and 70 cm. The 10 cm layer consisted of a thin crust (<1 cm) with rounded grains (<1 mm). The 70 cm layer was approximately 2 cm thick and composed of rounded grains (<2 mm). Below 70 cm, the snowpack transitioned to faceted (“sugary”) grains with 1F hardness. Travel uphill was on a very hard crust. Conditions were windy near ridge features but calm in treed areas. Ambient temperature near the summit was approximately 0 °C. Ski penetration on descent was minimal, with skiing primarily on a hard crust surface.