Reactive surface hoar

Quick report

Weather

cloudy, sunny

Ride Type

mellowSlopes, alpineSlopes, sunnySlopes, steepSlopes

Stayed Away

convexSlopes

Riding Quality

good

Snow Conditions

powder, windAffected

Avalanche Conditions

avalancheConditionSlab

Slightly dated report but still relevant to monitor future avalanche conditions in the Haines Pass area. Spent 3 days skiing and sledding Feb 8-10 on both the east and west side of the highway. Snowpack remains very touchy in many locations with again a widepsread evidence of a natural cycle 24 to 48 hrs prior. Of special interest is a layer of reactive surface hoar that was easily identified with hand shear in many places, approximately 40 to 50 cm down (varying depth). This layer likely formed during the Jan 27-29 clear period that had fairly light wind, or shortly after. Near the US border, we observed numerous natural recent avalanches (up to size 2) on that layer on slopes as mellow as 25 degrees. Althought we observed the majority of natural avalanches on north west to north east aspects, it appears to be a problem even on solar aspect. A skier intentional size 2 was also triggered on a 35 degree gully feature (start zone), with crown depth varying between 40 and 80 cm (wind loaded area), running fast and far. Similar observations were made further inland on the west side of the highway, although visibility prevented to have a good look around. Compared to my observations from two weeks ago when we observed mainly natural release on north to east aspects, natural avalanches were seen on every aspect now. It doesn't appear that these avalanche problems are as prevalant on the east side of the highway. Only minor sluff or size 0.5 to 1 in steep terrain were observed. In short summary, there continue to be numerous layers of concerns in the snowpack around Haines Pass area and recent observations don't suggest that this problem will heal rapidly. A cautious approach is warranted at this time.