Island Alpine Guides, AST1 course at Vic Cole Hut

Quick report

Weather

foggy, sunny, warm

Ride Type

mellowSlopes, sunnySlopes

Stayed Away

alpineSlopes, convexSlopes, steepSlopes

Riding Quality

ok

Snow Conditions

heavy, wet

Avalanche Conditions

avalancheConditionSlab, avalancheConditionTemp

Snowpack

Obs Type

summary

Site Aspect

S, SE, SW

Test Fracture

sudden

Site Elevation

1400

Test Initiation

easy

Site Elevation Band

tln

Surface Conditions

variable

Test Failure Layer Crystal Types

stormSnow

We dug several pits on several aspects, same elevation. Found only easy results in the newest 10cm of recent snow. Tried to find shears on the various crust layers between 40 and 60 cm down but only got uneven breaks. However, facets were certainly observed at that depth above and below various crust layers. Considering the massive amount of surface hoar observed about 9 days ago, I'd still be weary of Northerly aspects where it might have been preserved. However, we also had rapid warming in the past 24 hours. Deeper snowpack (below 80cm) is well settled.

Avalanche

Trigger Type

natural

Wind Exposure

leeSlope

Avalanche Size

2

Start Zone Aspect

W

Vegetation Cover

openSlope

Start Zone Incline

45

Avalanche Character

windSlab

Number Of Avalanches

1

Start Zone Elevation

1600

Avalanche Observation

12to24hrsAgo

Weak Layer Crystal Type

facets, surfaceHoar

Start Zone Elevation Band

alp

Avalanche Occurrence Datetime

2025-02-16T17:00:00.000Z

From Vic Cole Hut after overnight stay we observed 3 slab avalanches across the valley. 1 size 1.5 below "Little Knuckle", released in steep terrain below the peak, about 80 m wide, 150 m long. Second was sz. 1 off steep rocks above Beta Lake, approx. 80m long, 30m wide. 3rd avalanche in steep terrain below peak of Big Knuckle, sz. 2 150 m wide and ran a long way over unsupported terrain toward Alpha Lake. The terrain was in the shadow and we couldn't clearly see the fracture line or guess to it's depth. We wanted to make pictures once we had more light on the slopes, but then the fog moved in and we couldn't make any pictures with good enough resolution.