Above Hanging Lake

Went up to Hanging Lake for a day trip last Saturday (Nov. 25th). Was measuring HS throughout the day, especially in the trees below the lake. HS is fairly low within the trees below the lake (average HS: 40cms @ mid-morning Saturday). As the whole snowpack below the lake has been rain-soaked by the most recent storms, surface snow is slushy and wet through the trees, with much exposed wood and creeks still abundant. On Saturday, the FL was spot on as to what Avalance Canada forecasts predicted, with FLs at 1400m, the same elevation as Hanging Lake itself. Snow was falling as rain/snow mix 250m below this in the trees, and shifted to all rain as we departed later in the day. We skied slopes on the south side of Hanging Lake, and stayed on the ridge crests to avoid skiing any terrain with high consequence. Snow here was better (approx. 40cms of wet storm snow atop a rain-saturated isothermal layer). The storm snow was wet and cohesive, yet not forming any significant slab characteristics.

Measured temps for upper 20cms in test pit. Observations are as follows: Air: -0.5 degrees C Surface: 0 degrees C 10cm: -0.3 degrees C 20cm: -0.4 degrees C

Dug a pit at 1402m around mid-day on a non-forested slope at treeline. Test results are as follows: ECTN12RP down 17cm ECTN17PC down 31cms ECTN27PC down 38cms CTM11SC down 18cms CTM13RP down 31cms CTM18RP down 46cms