Mica SE Slidepath study pit ("747")
Snowpacklerchsa12 · Feb 7, 2020 · Premier
Weather
- Avg Temp
- -15
- Wind Speed
- windSpeedLight
- Blowing Snow
- none
- Sky Condition
- overcast
- Wind Direction
- S
- New Snow24 Hours
- 25
- Storm Start Date
- 2020-02-05T07:00:00.000Z
- Storm Snow Amount
- 25
- Temperature Trend
- falling
- Precipitation Type
- none
Snowpack
- Depth
- 175
- Obs Type
- point
- Site Aspect
- SE
- Test Fracture
- sudden
- Site Elevation
- 2050
- Ski Penetration
- 25
- Test Initiation
- moderate
- Test Failure Depth
- 115
- Site Elevation Band
- tln
- Surface Conditions
- newSnow
- Test Failure Layer Crystal Types
- surfaceHoar
We toured up to the top of "747", a SE facing slidepath on Mica Mountain, which runs from 2100m to 1250m and typically offers excellent skiing when the conditions are right. We dug a pit and collected the following data: 2050m 20m below ridgetop on windward slope SE aspect 26 degrees 205cm HS 25cm HST Snow crystal observations were limited, but all closer inspection with magnification indicated most layers were undergoing rounding. CTM12 (break on wind crust) down 35cm CTH25 (sudden planar on an unknown/decomposing interface) Shovel shear test produced sudden planar results on the late-December surface hoar down 115cm Weather: Temperature estimated at -15 (my beer was starting to freeze) Sky overcast Calm to light southerlies Precipitation nil Ski quality was excellent and we saw no signs of instability or natural avalanches.