Surprise Pass & Couloir
Snowpackjaretthenry · Feb 15, 2021 · Lake Louise
Quick report
- Weather
- sunny, cold
- Ride Type
- steepSlopes, alpineSlopes
- Stayed Away
- sunnySlopes, convexSlopes
- Riding Quality
- good
- Snow Conditions
- powder
Toured up to Surprise Pass, conditions on the uptrack were great except for a brief period of hollow sounds at around 2300m. After the initial descent through Surprise Pass, we cut skiers left and dug a pit in a safe spot near the couloir. Both the compression and extended column test failed around 30 cms down on the second swing from the shoulder (photos attached). The failure on the CT was sudden planar, while the ECT did not show any propagation. The couloir snow was excellent, which made for a difficult bootpack up!
Snowpack
- Obs Type
- point
- Site Aspect
- N
- Test Fracture
- sudden
- Site Elevation
- 2450
- Test Initiation
- moderate
- Test Failure Depth
- 30
- Site Elevation Band
- alp
- Surface Conditions
- newSnow
Further comments in quick observation section.