The Wind is Winding

We planned a conservative day with cold temps and strong-to-extreme winds at Morfee today. When we got to the ridgetop, we were nearly blown over and couldn’t communicate over the wind and layers of gear. We retreated down to what we thought would be sheltered terrain and were surprised to find shooting cracks and small wind slabs in the trees. The wind is blowing snow into areas that don’t usually get loaded, even at lower elevations. We stayed on slopes less than 30 degrees so we wouldn’t be surprised by an out-of-place avalanche problem. Top wind speed today: 130 km/hr. Low temp: -30 degrees All wind-exposed areas have been stripped back to the early February crust. In sheltered locations, there is 30 to 50 cm of faceting snow above the crust layer.