The latest news from the Mountain Conditions Report:
Information gathered by ACMG Assistant Ski Guide candidates in training during the week of January 24-28 2011.
Areas – We started off skiing in the Duffey Lake area and spent the remaining four days in the Blackcomb/Whistler. backcountry.
Weather – Generally spring like conditions with warm temperatures, minimal precipitation and moderate to strong southerly winds for most of the week. Freezing levels hovered around 1700m during the day, cooling near the end of the week.
Snowpack – As a result of the warm and windy weather, widespread thin windslabs were found at alpine and treeline elevations, along with a surface temperature crust below 1900m. These surfaces were being covered by new snow as of the evening of the 28th, accompanied with moderate to strong Southwest winds. Overall the midpack is strong, but a surface hoar layer buried approximately one metre deep and a rain crust at the bottom of the snowpack may react with added load, warming or large triggers such as cornice failures. These issues are more of a concern in the Duffey Lake area where the snowpack is shallower and the surface hoar layer is more widespread.
Avalanche – Very little avalanche activity throughout the week. No new slab avalanches were observed, natural sluffing to size 2 seen on steep solar aspects. Steep alpine lines were skied with only minimal sluffing. However, things may change with the forecasted snow and wind.
Ski Quality - Poor below 1600m, Fair above.
Thank you to all the candidates for their hard work and input.
Sylvain Hebert
ACMG Ski Guide
