Gogurt Creek

Today we went exploring south-west of Elkford. Access was good, and the snow at lower elevations (below 1600 m) is moist, and softened by the sun enough to provide effective cooling of the machines. At 2000 m we found 5-20 cm of soft snow sitting on large surface hoar crystals. The surface hoar is buried deepest on leeward exposed slopes. Given the reactivity observed in a test profile (ECTN1 & ECTP2), we decided to travel cautiously and gave exposed slopes ample space. Below this layer of concern, the snowpack is soft and generally well consolidated. The mid-January temperature crust does not exist in this area above 1600 m. The daytime temperature at 2000 m was +4, the skies were cloudy, with calm winds in the treeline, but strong winds and moderate snow transport were observed at the ridgetop. Throughout the day, there were significant tree bombs and pinwheeling, but we observed no new avalanches.