Bryant Lake East

Using a short weather window this morning (Saturday, February 12), we sledded up to Bryant Lake to scope out how the recent snow was responding to the heavy southwest winds overnight. As expected, cornices are forming on north-facing aspects with heavy wind scouring on south-facing slopes. Tree riding was variable, with pockets of deep snow and stiff wind formations. We observed shooting cracks on convexities with storm snow varying in thickness from 5-30 centimetres. Temperatures at Fraser were hovering around zero by noon. We'll expect large cornices to have formed on north-facing ridge tops once the weather clears and will choose terrain carefully until things settle out, limiting exposure to overhead hazards and wind-loaded features.