Red Mountain
Snowpackbpatch · Nov 13, 2020 · McGregor
Quick report
- Weather
- cloudy
- Ride Type
- denseTrees, steepSlopes, openTrees, mellowSlopes
- Stayed Away
- alpineSlopes
- Riding Quality
- amazing
- Snow Conditions
- deepPowder
- Avalanche Conditions
- avalancheConditionSnow
Spent the weekend at Red Mountain cabin, dug a pit next to the cabin (1565m on NE aspect). Temps ranged about -8 to -2 throughout the weekend at the cabin. 110cm total snowpack, 40cm of light powder from the week sitting on a weak faceted layer, the remainder of the snowpack (about 70cm) was a solid block all the way to ground (see photo that shows the bottom slab). Compression test failed on the faceted layer at 3 elbow taps (non-planer break). Although the layer failed relatively early in my compression test, the powdery snow didn't seem to be consolidating into a slab. I would be wary of wind affected snow sitting on top of the faceted layer/a rise in temperature. There was another 15cm of new snow on Friday night. We boarded tight trees and the natural glades SE of the cabin on Saturday and had an amazing time. We rode a variety of slope angles ranging from mellow to steep (20-45 degrees) and didn't experience any issues with snow stability. Be aware of the natural terrain traps (gullies) in these areas.
Snowpack
- Depth
- 110
- Obs Type
- point
- Site Aspect
- NE
- Test Fracture
- unevenBreak
- Test Initiation
- easy
- Test Failure Depth
- 40
- Site Elevation Band
- btl
- Surface Conditions
- newSnow
- Test Failure Layer Crystal Types
- facets
Approx 110cm snowpack, hard consolidated slab from ground to 70cm, 2cm weak faceted layer, 40cm fresh powder. Compression test failed (non-planer) at 3 elbow taps but the very light powder did not seem able to consolidate into a slab in my test area and the areas we travelled/skied. There was evidence of wind transport in the area, and I would be wary of wind affected snow sitting on top of the weak faceted layer on steeper slopes.