Glacier Mountaineering Society

Sat, Feb 18 2012 - Ski Touring (View Original Event Details)

Coordinator(s):		Joe Grabowski
Participants:		Joe Grabowski

Write Up:
Small group: Denise and me so we took our dog and decided to have an easy family day and went to ski south of Marias Pass off Flattop and beyond. High winds along the ridge tops and snowing made standing on the ridge unpleasant. Did a pit on an east aspect at 6,400' and found instability in the top 4" of new snow. There is also what I will now call a persistent weak layer approximately 30" deep as of this date, clearly visible when the snow profile is exposed. Also found this same layer in Essex creek last weekend. This pwl is over about 2" to 3" of loose unconsolidated sugary snow. Did get moderate compression failures but extended column tests showed no propagation. However, did a quick rutschblock for the surface 4" and got a score of RB1. Skied pretty conservative as a result. Inspite of the winds the snow quality was pretty good. Cornices along the ridge line are well formed. Coverage is good, 2 meters at 6,400'.

Have some photos from this event that you'd like to share in our photo album? Please forward them to Tim Anderson at twamontana@gmail.com. Please note that we prefer to receive the photos in approximately 640x480 or 750x500 pixels - do NOT send original high-res photos. If you have a LOT of photos, please submit up to twenty of your favorites (only) for a day event, or up to forty of your favourites for a multi-day event. Thank you.