Miner's Gully
Snowpacknick.baggaley · Mar 20, 2020 · Bow Valley
Quick report
- Weather
- sunny, windy, warm
- Ride Type
- steepSlopes, openTrees, alpineSlopes
- Stayed Away
- convexSlopes
- Riding Quality
- good
- Snow Conditions
- powder, crusty, windAffected
- Avalanche Conditions
- avalancheConditionTemp
Skied Miner's Gully starting from the top at 1205. Upper gully has a 45cm wind slab (P hardness) resting on 40cm of facets, though no whumpfing was observed and the slab quickly disappeared in the lower gully. Lower down, surface snow was a mix of patchy crusts, wind slabs and powder. No recent avalanches were observed, even with warming from around -10 at the start to -1 at Quarry Lake.
Weather
- Avg Temp
- -5
- Wind Speed
- windSpeedLight
- Blowing Snow
- moderate
- Sky Condition
- clear
- Wind Direction
- S
- New Snow24 Hours
- 0
- Temperature Trend
- rising
- Precipitation Type
- none
Weather observation at ridgetop (1205 at 2400m): Clear, no precip. Winds M from the S-SE. Temp -5.4 Weather observation in bowl (1235 at 2150m): Clear, no precip. Winds L from the S. Temp -5.1
Snowpack
- Depth
- 90
- Obs Type
- point
- Site Aspect
- NE
- Test Fracture
- unevenBreak
- Site Elevation
- 2150
- Ski Penetration
- 15
- Test Initiation
- hard
- Test Failure Depth
- 55
- Site Elevation Band
- alp
- Surface Conditions
- crust
- Test Failure Layer Crystal Types
- facets
Dug a pit in the bowl below the central cliff bands - slope angle 34 degrees. 8cm thick wind slab cracked and failed on column isolation; remaining column failed at CTH27 down 55 on facets. Overall impressions: In bowl, aside from wind slab resting on faceting snow, lower pack appears well consolidated with multiple layers between 1F and 4F hardness bridging still present basal FC weak layer.