Vermilion Peak

Quick report

jake.finnan · Mar 4, 2018 · Kootenay

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Quick report

Weather
cold, windy, cloudy, sunny
Ride Type
denseTrees, openTrees
Stayed Away
alpineSlopes, convexSlopes
Riding Quality
Amazing
Snow Conditions
deepPowder
Avalanche Conditions
avalancheConditionSlab

Vermilion Peak had excellent skiing in the upper trees March 4th. A few size 1 loose dry avalanches witnessed today from the March 3rd storm, about 10cm of soft storm slab - isolated to steep terrain and on convex slopes in steep terrain including in the trees higher up. Main chute had a size 2 higher up from this same loose dry storm snow. Snowpack below this layer was rock solid. Turned around about 100m from the summit due to wind slab and a concerning moat in the cornice on RH side. No room up there for error -pretty dicey final stretch!

Weather

Calm winds below alpine. Strong winds on summit ridge creating wind slab. No wind effect below alpine.

Snowpack

Solid snowpack below 10cm storm layer.

Avalanche

A few size 1 loose dry avalanches witnessed today. 10cm of storm snow - soft slab in steep terrain (40 degrees) and on convex slopes in steep terrain including in sparse trees. Isolated to specific features. Snowpack below this layer is solid.