Toured up to the top of the mighty Mt MacPherson near Revelstoke
yesterday, Feb 9-2010.
We dug a test profile at 2100m on a North-East aspect and found 3
layers of surface hoar within the top 25cm of the snowpack. Two of
these layers showed crystals standing proud at 15-20mm in size. It is
snowing lightly today without noticeable wind and these layers are
slowly getting buried intact, specially in sheltered areas.
One layer of surface hoar is usually bad enough when covered by a
cohesive slab of storm snow, so seeing three of these weak layers so
close to the surface of the snowpack can only mean trouble when the
next storm hits.
Something to definitely keep in mind as storm snow layers build up
during the next few days or weeks.
Sylvain Hebert
ACMG Ski Guide
Revelstoke
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