Roman Nose Lakes Area

IPACs has a new off-grid snow monitoring site in the Selkirk Mountains, at 6,060 feet near Roman Nose Lakes. If you encounter this site, please do not disturb and be respectful of the important information this provides our forecasting program.

Snow cover is patchy to non-existent below 5,000 feet. Deepest pockets linger in heavily shaded areas and in creek bottoms. Between 5,000 and approx. 5,800 feet, we found 6 to 8 inches of snow from prior October storms. The snow surface across all apsects at those elevations consists of a firm but breakable rain/ melt-freeze crust 3 to 4 inches thick. Below that we found moist rounds to the ground (4F to 1-). Once we reached 6,000 feet, snow depths increased to 15 to 20 inches and the global presence of a crusted snow surface diminished. Sunny slopes still harbored a crust, but it was much thinner (3 cm), and was not present on more northerly slopes. The snowpack as a whole above 6,000 was drier, softer, and contained more advanced faceted grains (4F) below the surface - although grain size was still small (0.3 to 0.5 mm). The higher you move above 6,000 feet start zones immediately below ridges and in larger openings are starting to get connected and looked to harbor 2 plus feet of snow. Not enough to recreate on now, but once a deep enough slab forms above conditions will likely change dramatically, and triggering an avalanche should be in consideration - especially during and immediately after upcoming storms. This is more pressing on slopes facing west through north to east above 6,000 feet. Steep, southerly slopes at upper elevaitons currently have the thinnest snow cover.