Windslabs and wind effect

Quick report

Alex Grierson · Jan 14, 2025 · North Columbia

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Observation photo 1Observation photo 2Observation photo 3Observation photo 4

Quick report

Weather
cloudy, sunny, windy
Ride Type
denseTrees, openTrees
Stayed Away
alpineSlopes
Riding Quality
good
Snow Conditions
powder, windAffected
Avalanche Conditions
avalancheConditionSlab, avalancheConditionSnow, avalancheConditionSound

Skied at Jumbo on the 13th and 14th. There was strong NW winds on the 13th that unfortunately completely hammered all open slopes. Still great skiing in the trees (20cm ski pen), but anything exposed to wind was terrible. We remote triggered a size 1 windslab on the 13th on the crossloaded easterly slope at treeline (see photos), and another group had triggered a similar avalanche nearby. These appeared to be failing on the Jan 7th surface hoar which was size 6mm and down 20-30cm in sheltered areas. We also saw several naturals alpine and treeline, E aspects, up to size 2, which looked to be similar depth and were propagating far across features. Wouldn’t recommend heading to the alpine any time soon, but there's good tree skiing to be had.