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Hello, Everyone.
Turned the legs over today on a short walk to an upper treeline location, in the near-country of Blackomb Mountain, for a look at the snowcover.
It was certainly warmer today than it has been of late. Broken skies turned overcast by midday with light winds from the west at treeline elevations.
Rolling low-angle treeline terrain in a meadow on a west aspect had that layer of weak, sugary snow down approximately 100cm with the early-December crust beneath that and more sugary snow beneath this crust.
Test results on this weak, sugary layer of snow just above the crust showed that the layer still has the potential for widespread failure on the right (or wrong!) slope. Steeper and open/large slopes around treeline - especially rocky ones, should be avoided. Treeline on most aspects still seems sensitive and may be for some time yet.
If you get too close to rocks or trees poking up through the snowcover and hear 'whumpfing' or see cracking around your skis then that is a sign of unstable snow.
Also, please consider that the snowpack in the South Coast region at all elevations, so far this year, is more fragile than usual.
The trend is for warmer weather and continued snowfall. The avalanche hazard will be on the rise, too......
Wishing Everyone a safe January,
Dale Marcoux
Assistant Ski Guide
ACMG Member
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