South Burn
mkennd,
Wednesday 23rd October, 2024 9:32PM
<p>The south burn skied well today! We approached from the Gong traverse trailhead, and found good snow bridges. River crossings further north are out. North aspects held excellent powder. East aspects had 20-25cm of fist to 4-finger snow above the crust layer and skied decently above ~1700m. A south-facing slope had 5cm snow atop the crust and was challenging skiing. Sluff management required on all aspects. Ski pen ~5 cm, and easy travel.
Several natural dry loose (trending towards wet loose) observed on east and northeast aspects at treeline and in the alpine, mostly triggered by collapsing mushrooms. No other instabilities noted.
The day was warm, and treeline surface snow was moist in the afternoon. S-1 started at ~1500. Variable light winds gusting moderate throughout the day, and some snow plumes observed on higher ridges.</p>
Avalanche Conditions
Rapid temperature rise to near zero degrees or wet surface snow.
Weather Conditions
Warm.
Location: 52.35858000 -117.38552000