Rossland Range/Red Mountain Resort backcountry conditions update with Video
Hiked up Record Peak today for giggles and to see what has happened since the epic dump last Wednesday followed by a painful warming/rain episode. What I found wasn’t very funny. We’ve got it all: rain crust, wind crust, slabby snow and multiple faceted layers. Before I tell you what I learned though, I need to preface these comments by saying I am not a professional guide or snow scientist, but rather an experienced backcountry skier with courses under my belt. This is how I see it…
I dug two pits, one on a due south aspect at about 35 degrees inclination and one on the northeast face at about 35-40 degrees near an area that slides often and big. The results:
South Record Peak - Did a shovel compression and sheer test…the warm weather shrunk the snowpack to 100-110cms with a distinct rain crust on top. Air temp was approximately -4c at 3 p.m. The test results showed moderate release at 35cms, and moderate to hard releases at 70 cms (below the distinct rain crust from December). I would have felt ok about skiing the trees on this aspect and would avoid the open slopes and convexities, but the crust (5-10cm penetration and grabby) was so brutal I skied down to the ridge with my skins on after digging a pit on the north side. All aspects had poor skiing.
Northeast Record Peak - Tap and shovel test again, 15 minutes later. 185cm depth and multiple layers, some hard to see but apparent in tests. Again, rain crust on top with a distinct layer 35cm and another at 50cms released moderate. The lower layers were hard to go, but most troubling was the hard release below the distinctive ice crust at about 100cm depth. This was a planar release and while hard to get to go, an avalanche of the top 35-45cms could trigger this deep layer and it would go big.
I traversed down Whitewolf Ridge and skied icy groomers down Red to my car, resigned to not tour again until more snow arrives and stability improves.
Here’s a short vid of what I saw:
