Whitewater Backcountry

Snowpack

Kootenay Backcountry Guides · Dec 5, 2016 · Ymir

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Quick report

Weather
stormy, cold, cloudy
Ride Type
denseTrees, openTrees, mellowSlopes
Stayed Away
convexSlopes, steepSlopes
Riding Quality
amazing
Snow Conditions
powder, deepPowder
Avalanche Conditions
avalancheConditionSnow, avalancheConditionSlab

Saw several sz 2 slab and loose snow avalanches in Ymir Bowl and West Ymir ridge. We dug a profile on a south aspect at 1950m. There was a prominent crust down 40-60 cm with a layer of facets above it. We were unable to get any reactivity on this layer in compression tests or ski cuts. We suspect this is due to the low density snow over the crust. This may change when we get our next storm.

Snowpack

Depth
141
Obs Type
point
Site Aspect
S
Test Fracture
unevenBreak
Site Elevation
1948
Ski Penetration
0
Test Initiation
none
Foot Penetration
51
Site Elevation Band
tln
Surface Conditions
newSnow

The upper snow pack is still really unconsolidated. Most tests were non-planer and uneven breaks. There is a 1cm knife crust down 40-60cm with 2 cm of 1-2mm facets above it. We were unable to get any results on this layer.