[MCR] S. Selkirks near Nelson Dec 18 - 20

 
 
 Spent the past three days skiing and digging profiles in the southern Selkirks, 15km north of Nelson.
 
 The average snowpack depth at treeline ( 2000m + ) was about 175cm. Below 1500m elevation there are still alot of ground hazards poking through.
 
 Temperatures were moderate in the -5 to -2 C range, and winds were light.
 
 The only layer of note in the pack was a weak facet layer 40cm below the surface - a hangover from the week of arctic air in early december. This facet layer is up to 15cm thick, and in our snowpit tests usually produced rapid collapsing results, especially where it was overlaid by denser settled snow ( slab ). We felt numerous 'whumphs' in our travels, another sure sign of instability.
 That being said, we managed to get excellent turns on supported, less committing terrain.
 
 Today ( monday ) it is snowing in earnest again. The mountains around Nelson have recieved 20cm and counting since last night, so this new load will add stress to that buried weakness.
 
 Be careful out there over the holidays,
 
 Joel McBurney
 ACMG SG
 Nelson BC
 
 

---

Windows Live: Make it easier for your friends to see what you're up to on Facebook.