Lots of wind loading happening

Map for Mountain Information Network report: Lots of wind loading happening

Snow conditions

Riding quality was:
Good
Snow conditions were:
  • Powder
  • Wind affected
We rode:
  • Cut blocks
  • Mellow slopes
  • Open trees
We stayed away from:
  • Alpine slopes

Information

The day was:
  • Cloudy
  • Windy
Avalanche conditions
  • Slab avalanches today or yesterday.
  • 30cm + of new snow, or significant drifting, or rain in the last 48 hours.

Comments

More snow being transported than we expected NW of Sparwood today. We saw natural wind slab avalanches in alpine, cross loaded features that happened while we were in the field and immediately before. Dug down to check if the persistent slab was in this zone, and couldn’t find any evidence of it. No whumpfing, cracking or failures in our test pit. We chose a sheltered spot away from wind loaded slopes to try and find some soft snow unaffected by the wind and were rewarded with some pretty good riding.