Finally some clear weather has arrived on the coast!
This morning we took a flight from Squamish over the peaks to the west to survey some avalanche paths in the Clowhom valley, and do some digging. In addition we flew over the Tantalus Range on the way home. With the exception of the tenacious valley fog draped over Vancouver and some of the inlets, we found only high thin could, with limitless visibility. Felt like spring at ridge top elevations with highs of 12 C. Weird.
Avalanche results from the previous 2 weeks of weather events were variable, and we saw everything from large events running full path, to huge bowls that had cracked (but not run), to big faces that appeared to be fully intact, and still ready to rumble. Suspect the bigger releases ran on the early December crust/facets, but some shallower releases may have released on the Jan 7 layer or during the storms. Of note was cornices appeared to be much smaller than normal for this time of year.
We managed to do one full snow profile at 1400m on a SW aspect, in which we observed a thin surface meltfreeze crust sitting above a well settled 140cm snowpack that was mostly moist (not wet, but not dry either). Shear test results were in the top 60 cm, and were mostly irregular and not alarming at this lower elevation. In addition we stopped for a quick probe and surface assessment on a SE slope at 1700m (subtle lee feature). There was twice the amount of snow here (280 cm), and the snow underneath the crust will still quite dry. The early Dec layer was easily identified with the probe as a weak feeling layer, about 240 cm below the surface.
In discussions with 2 other avalanche professionals I was working with today, we all felt that the snowpack stability has improved, but we are still a way off from letting our guard down completely, especially with these mid-day high temperatures.
Not that we did any skiing, but if you were so inclined…most exposed locations showed evidence of being seriously wind effected, and the surface crust forming with these warm temps would be a force for any knee to be reckoned with. That said, I suspect there could be some reasonable turns to be had on north treeline glade features. But I think I am going to dig out my climbing gear and hit the south facing bluffs in Squamish instead…
Brian Gould
Mountain Guide
PS Haberl Hut picture
