- Submitted by
- petra.hekkenberg
- Observations date
- Tuesday, February 17, 2026 at 23:30
- Location
- 49.388369° N 117.395949° W
- Reporting on
- Snow conditions
%2F-117.39594869470542%2C49.38836948916406%2C8%2C0%2C0%2F1026x200%3Faccess_token%3Dpk.eyJ1IjoiYXZhbGFuY2hlY2FuYWRhIiwiYSI6ImNqd2dvZmUxdzE4ZWg0M2tkaXpuNG95aTQifQ.pBLM87fE3sIxRJqJT7Bf7g&w=1200&q=75 "Feb 17 Copper mtn ridge hand shear")
Quick
Avalanche
Snowpack
Weather
Incident
Snow conditions
- Riding quality was:
- Amazing
- Snow conditions were:
- Deep powder
- Wind affected
- We rode:
- Mellow slopes
- Open trees
- We stayed away from:
- Alpine slopes
- Convex slopes
- Steep slopes
- Sunny slopes
Information
- The day was:
- Cloudy
- Cold
- Stormy
- Avalanche conditions
- 30cm + of new snow, or significant drifting, or rain in the last 48 hours.
- Whumpfing or drum-like sounds or shooting cracks.
Comments
On our way to Copper cabin we did a quick hand shear around 3:30 pm on the SW ridge up to Copper Mtn. Snow cycle was in full progress, very strong Southern wind hammering the ridge. Results of hand shear: +- 18 cm of wind-affected storm snow on top of a 2cm thick sun crust from Feb 15. Below that +- 12 cm of storm snow from Feb 14 sitting on top of another crust of 3cm thick. Late January crust was about 35cm down at this time, more loading happened since then. Little micro features were easily human triggered, showing potential for much larger propagation on open slopes. Shooting cracks while skinning.