Cornice Ridge, Upper Lost Creek

Snowpack

andrewmwrench · Dec 1, 2020 · Kootenay Pass

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Quick report

Riding Quality
good

Great Day Skiing in Kootenay Pass. We skied a loop North of the highway including Cornice E, NE facing run into upper Lost Creek, SW facing run from Buzz's/Missile saddle, and returned to Cornice Ridge via the North side of the Buzz's/Cornice saddle. 70-90cm of snow at TL with good ski quality. Many early season hazards still present everywhere. We found small pockets of Wind Slab at ridgetop which were easy to trigger with ski-cuts. These resulted in Sz. 1 avalanches which gained mass and speed as they entrained the November 30 SH and facets. Cracking was noted anywhere there was any slab property over the Nov. 30 SH which was found buried 10-20cm and was size 3-10.

Snowpack

Depth
80
Obs Type
point
Site Aspect
NW
Test Fracture
resistant
Site Elevation
1950
Test Initiation
moderate
Test Failure Depth
40
Site Elevation Band
tln
Surface Conditions
newSnow
Test Failure Layer Crystal Types
facets, crust

CTE (Break) down 10 on Nov. 30 SH. CTM/H (RP) results below Nov.18 crust on size 2 facets. Nov 5 crust was directly on the ground at this location.