Cornice Ridge Traverse
Quick reportsixstringdefehr · Jan 22, 2022 · North Rockies
Quick report
- Riding Quality
- Good
- Snow Conditions
- powder, windAffected
- Avalanche Conditions
- avalancheConditionSlab, avalancheConditionSound
Made our way up Cornice Ridge, followed Ridge line to eventually come down a north/northeast slope to finish the day with a traverse around Camel's Hump. First, made a run down the East slope of Cornice Ridge. Entry was 40 or so meters beyond the summit to a safer drop in, away from the major cornice development. Pit dug on a northeast aspect, showed the crust down 25cms. Seems on average, this is between 5-10cms deeper than on non-wind loaded slopes. Extend Column test showed full propagation on this layer, 10 wrist taps. 4 finger firmness on that upper 25cms. On a more directly North aspect, where our main descent was, snow was noticeably not as wind loaded and less dense.
Weather
Not much additional wind distribution left from the storm Wednesday night/Thursday morning. Moderate ridge winds still capable of moving whatever new snow was still available. Ge really broken clouds, but consistent cloud/fig coverage by the early afternoon, being that we were along the ridge. Once we reached the powerlines, we had easy visibility once again.
Avalanche
not a particularly deep slab but propagation went well beyond the boundaries of the photo provided. The deposit was briefly visible before clouded over again, certainly enough for a burial. Ran the full path of the slope section.