Ski Conditions

2 photos

Steep Creek Observations

Duffey Lake Road

Ski Conditions

Plenty of tracks and slope tests in Steep Creek on Duffey Lake Road today.

Snowpack
Surface hoar 5-10mm in sheltered locations. East winds redistributing surface snow with reverse loading. Variable surfaces include hardslab, softslab, crust, wind press and low density snow. January 29 surface hoar down 15cm and reactive in snowpack tests. The December facets continue to slowly settle and gain strength. Shallow rocky terrain remains suspect. Test pit at 1975m on a north aspect snow depth 220cm produced CTE 1 sudden planar down 15cm on surface hoar 4-6mm below a thin crust.
The main concerns are redistributed snow creating isolated and buried windslab size 1-2 as well as shallow rocky terrain propagating on facets to produce up to size 3.5 avalanches. Low probability, high consequence.

Weather
Cold arctic outflow persisted today. -12, clear, light easterly winds. Looked like much higher winds in the Joffre group. Snow was pluming off the ridges there all day. No new avalanches observed.

Ski conditions
The alpine has the above mentioned highly variable snow conditions, whereas sheltered areas treeline and below still hold great skiing.

Cheers

On The Map

These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field.