Syncline Brook

Quick report

Weather

cold, cloudy, sunny

Ride Type

openTrees

Riding Quality

amazing

Snow Conditions

deepPowder

Incredible skiing in the glades on Saturday between Syncline and St. Eloi. Pack is still thin with plenty of hazard, and more southerly aspects as well as ridge crests are blown pretty bare. East/Northeast aspects had a 60/100cm snowpack depending on where you are. Snowpack was solid and the new snow from last Sunday and Friday was extremely light and dry, it was hard work breaking trail. Conditions were blower. Watch out for for this storm layer if the winds pick up and/or it becomes more cohesive.

Weather

Avg Temp

-15

Max Temp

-15

Min Temp

-20

Wind Speed

windSpeedLight

Blowing Snow

light

Sky Condition

scatteredClouds

Snowfall Rate

1

New Snow24 Hours

8

Storm Snow Amount

40

Temperature Trend

steady

Precipitation Type

snow

Snowpack

Depth

80

Obs Type

summary

Site Aspect

NE, E

Test Fracture

sudden

Ski Penetration

40

Test Initiation

hard

Foot Penetration

65

Test Failure Depth

40

Site Elevation Band

tln, alp

Surface Conditions

newSnow, surfaceHoar

Test Failure Layer Crystal Types

stormSnow

The new storm snow failed on a layer from last week about 40 cm down, failure was HCT21. The break was a sudden pop but would not propagate on the extended column test. Our pit was dug in a lee feature that would have been susceptible to wind loading, but we found none. The day was calm with occasional gusts but the new snow till clung to the tree branches (a rare sight in Southern Alberta) and there was little evidence of significant transport. Surface hoar was beginning to grow from the cold temps and could cause problems in the future. On average the depth was 80cm, but ridges were quite thin with many hazards exposed, concavities and thin trees on east aspects provided by far the best skiing.