Spearhead Glacier
Quick reportJustin Partridge · Jan 1, 2024 · Spearhead
Quick report
- Weather
- sunny
- Ride Type
- alpineSlopes
- Riding Quality
- good
- Snow Conditions
- powder
There is already a good report on conditions in the Spearhead, so I'll just add a note from a pit we dug. See snowpack section.
Snowpack
- Depth
- 195
- Obs Type
- point
- Site Aspect
- NE
- Test Fracture
- sudden
- Site Elevation
- 2280
- Test Initiation
- hard
- Test Failure Depth
- 60
- Site Elevation Band
- alp
- Surface Conditions
- newSnow
- Test Failure Layer Crystal Types
- crust
We dug at 2280m on the shoulder of the Spearhead Glacier just below ridge top on an NE aspect. We found a 2cm melt-freeze crust down 60cm but didn't have a loupe to check the crystal type above the crust. We did a compression test and the result was hard (CTH 30) but sudden planar on that crust. The slope angle where we did the compression test was only about 25 degrees, so I suspect the results would be easier on a steeper slope. Once the block did move, it slid quite easily.