Just returned from a week on the east side of the Selkirks just north of the Trans-Canada highway.
Weather:
We had very light snowfalls that accumulated 5 - 10 cm of cold, fluffy, dry powder over the week. Temperatures were cold--warmest about -6.0 in sheltered, sunny locations at treeline with the coldest being -19.0 this morning after a night of clear skies. Cloud cover was a mixed bag from fully overcast to clear--nothing lasting more than 12 hours or so. Winds were light and variable although I did hear some stronger winds for a few hours two nights ago.
Snowpack, in general terms:
The snowpack depth and layering is extremely variable over elevation and terrain features. Higher elevations and exposed terrain features were hammered by very strong winds from variable directions about 2 weeks ago and we found very, very hard crusts and surface slabs as well as hard sastrugi. Winds also penetrated into the trees creating crusts and thin slabs. Where there was little evidence of wind affect (below treeline, sheltered areas) a strong crust or thin slab exists (the most recent warm snowfall frozen hard by cold temperatures?). All this lies under the 5-10cm of fluff mentioned above.
Snowpack, more specifically:
In the low alpine (around 7500 feet) we found a 160cm snowpack on the lower end of the local glacier. The weakest layer in the entire pack here was a 5cm thick layer of facets (sugary grains) right on the ice. Above this was a 40cm mix of facets and crusts--the November layer(s) that dominate the deep snowpack in much of BC and Alberta this year. The middle of the alpine snowpack is mostly faceted snow with the various weak layers from early and late December clearly visible but mostly quite firm and reasonably well bonded. The upper snowpack is a mixed bag of slightly weaker and stronger layers, none of which showed much indication of instability for the moment. The January 27th surface is visible in the alpine under about 25 - 40 cm of very hard (Knife resistance--almost as hard as a well tilled slope at the ski hill) slab with a dusting of new snow on top. The surface slab seems reasonably well bonded to the January 27th surface for the moment.
At treeline (around 6700 feet) we found 100 - 150 cm of snow. Under the 5 - 10cm of fluff lies a 20 - 40cm very hard wind or settlement/temperature crust/slab. Pretty much the entire remainder of the snowpack is faceted and the facet/crust combos from November are easily recognizeable near the ground. The top layer, at the moment, seems fairly well bonded to the underlying facets. Failure did occur at the top of the November layer but the nature of the failure suggests it was unlikely to be triggered by a skier in this location, where the weak layer is over 100cm down.
Below treeline, the snowpack thins rapidly to perhaps 70-80cm with a thinner crust/slab on the surface that carries a skier (mostly) and weak facets below. While we did not see it, neighbouring areas were reporting surface hoar (feathery crystals) in the upper part of the snowpack below treeline.
Avalanche Activity:
Other than a few small loose dry sluffs and a couple of thin, soft slabs (all on quite steep terrain) we saw no avalanche activity. Small skier-triggered slabs were reported in nearby areas, failing on surface hoar in below treeline locations.
Travel:
Tracksetting was tricky with the very hard surfaces. The bit of fluff on top did little to make it easier although it did seem to get a bit better the last couple of days (maybe my skinning technique just got better?). Ski crampons would be helpful until things change. We found decent skiing on moderate, sheltered alpine terrain where it was easier to set an edge in the hard snow beneath the 5 - 10 cm of new snow and where there was no hidden sastrugi lurking. At treeline, if you break through the surface slab, you sink boot-top or knee deep into the facets below. Below treeline you sink almost to the ground in many places if you break through.
Crevasses: coverage on the glaciers is highly variable and generally below normal in this region.
Sliders on hard surface layers: kind felt like spring touring sometimes, where the potential for a long slider on a hard, smooth surface is a concern.
Avalanche: My primary concerns are the weak basal layer in the alpine and the generally weak, faceted mid and lower snowpack at and below treeline. The likelihood of triggering an avalanche in this area at the moment is quite low. However, there is potential for large, destructive avalanches in the alpine if something were to trigger that deep layer. At and below treeline, there's not much of a load or a slab on the facets--yet--so not much hazard at the moment.
Terrain and Risk Management:
On the glaciers I stayed on fairly benign terrain: compression zones where crevasses are less likely and low ground where the wind had drifted snow in a bit deeper.
On steep ground I'd consider taking skis off and kicking steps, using ski or boot crampons, or just plain slowing down and taking extra care on uptracks if traversing or turning. Have well tuned skis with sharp edges for downhill runs on steep slopes to handle the "pow on pavement"!
In the alpine I stayed out from under large, steep slopes. I chose minimize or eliminate where possible, exposure to slopes that had potentially large triggers above, figuring it would take something like an icefall, cornice fall, or a small slab or sluff from steep cliffs above to trigger one of those deeply buried persistent weak layers, the one of greatest concern being the basal facets on glacier ice. At and below treeline, I skied cautiously if I encountered a steep, convex or unsupported slope.
The existing snowpack, while apparently quite stable at the moment, does not inspire much confidence. The current surface is setting up to become another persistent weak layer of facets or perhaps surface hoar on a very firm slab/crust when it gets buried. I'd be extremely careful if/when the weather changes. Warming temperatures, strong solar radiation, any significant snowfall, or any kind of windloading event would be of concern. Certainly any of these weather changes will increase the sensitivity to triggering of any one of a number of weaker layers now in the snowpack, more so if more than one factor occurs at once. If/when the weather turns, I'd throttle back pretty heavily and stay away from avalanche terrain to see if the current surface holds. After the weather becomes more benign, I'd give it a couple of days before stepping out again to see if the deeper, persistent weak layers might reactivate.
Karl Klassen
Mountain Guide
Mountain Guide