Southside of Kootenay Pass

Quick report

Nic_ · Nov 20, 2024 · Kootenay Pass

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Quick report

Weather
cloudy, windy
Riding Quality
good
Snow Conditions
powder, windAffected
Avalanche Conditions
avalancheConditionSound

2 days (Nov 19/20) Around the Ripple Cabin. Found good skiing on most aspects on lower angle smooth terrain - bluffs, boulder fields or rocky breakovers were avoided due to thin coverage. Our skis generally sunk into the snow 15-20cm and travel was quick and pretty supportive. Surfaces remained dry on all aspects. HS at TL ranged 70-110. below 1900m skiing is more featured and more heads up. On Nov 20th the wind picked up blowing from the E/SE. We toured up to some ridges and found reactive windslabs as the 10cm snow overnight was forming slabs up to 35cm thick. Great riding and was hard to resist the temptation to "open it up" but there was enough poking out or thinly buried to remind me take'r eay.

Snowpack

Depth
90
Site Aspect
SE
Test Fracture
unevenBreak
Site Elevation
1950
Test Initiation
moderate
Test Failure Depth
40
Site Elevation Band
btl
Surface Conditions
newSnow
Test Failure Layer Crystal Types
other

15cm moist snow at bottom