Cornice ridge - Surface hoar problem
Quick reportalexandrehetu1 · Feb 6, 2021 · Kootenay Pass
Quick report
- Weather
- stormy
- Ride Type
- mellowSlopes, denseTrees
- Stayed Away
- alpineSlopes, steepSlopes, openTrees
- Riding Quality
- Good
- Snow Conditions
- powder
- Avalanche Conditions
- avalancheConditionSlab, avalancheConditionSound
We went up cornice ridge, lots of wind up on the ridge (30-40 km/h and more). A lot of snow transportation on the North and East slopes. Dug a profile below the east ridge and found the 25th surface hoar (size 6 to 18 mm) down 80 cm. We had ECTN 8 down 30cm and ECTP 24 down 80cm on that SH layer, on a 33 deg. slope. We saw numerous size 1-2 slab avalanches around cornice and buzz ridge. visibility was poor so we stayed in more sheltered area and mellow slopes. Main concern was the 30cm windslab stepping down to that SH layer, which could produce large avalanches