Quick report
Skied in the ravine on Nov. 29 and came back today for more. Things seem to have settled and the snow from the most recent storm brought goodies to ski. This said skiing on E aspect feels firm and supportive without any signs of instability. There are pockets of wind-loaded snow here and there that are less firm. The ground in some spots is not far and vegetation and rocks might say hello during your bootpack. Overall, it is obvious that there are pockets of wind-loaded snow on NE & E aspects interspersed on a firm, supportive layer that won’t yield when skied. Can’t comment on SE. No signs of instability. The storm/wind slab from the most recent storm felt firmer than yesterday.
Weather
- Cloud Cover
- overcast
- Wind Loading
- light
Less windy compared to 29/11 and less visuals of snow being transported. Much cooler temperatures.
Snowpack
Probed an Eastern aspect at ~1410m and found the following. Snowpack depth varies between 90cm and 160cm. The top is a firm layer of wind affected snow. Underneath this layer you will find a softer less consolidated layer that rests atop the third layer: likely the very firm rain crust. It’s hard to approximate the thickness of these layers with a probe, but here is a very rough breakdown for the 160cm probe. ~45cm of firm wind affected snow, ~65cm of looser, less firm snow, ~50cm of hard rain crust snow.