[MCR] Selkirk Mtns-Mount Cartier-Ghost Peak Apr 22-23 2011

[Public Mountain Conditions Report]

Just spent a couple of days this past weekend in the Mount Cartier- 
Ghost Peak area SE of the Revelstoke Mountain Resort. We skied out in  
the late afternoon of Saturday April 23rd, so this information is a  
few days old.

We found a variety of conditions: Good powder snow on true North  
aspects down to 2000m. Windslabs at ridge tops and below. Temperature/ 
suncrusts on all solar aspects. On these aspects, we found 5cm of  
moist/wet snow on the surface sitting on a 3-4cm supportive crust  
(before it got cooked and too weak to support the weight of a skier).

We backed off our larger objective (NE face of Cartier) due to  
windslabs on big convex features but found excellent powder on several  
North facing slopes as well as good corn on E and S aspects.

Some moist point releases had triggered thin slab avalanches to sz 2  
on East aspects. The day before our arrival, a party of skiers  had  
triggered a sz 1.5 avalanche, 20-30cm deep on a SW aspect, 40 degrees  
steep.

Our main concerns were very large cornices, windslabs and multiple  
crusts buried on solar aspects. We skied up to 40 degrees slopes on  
North aspect.

Surface hoar to 4mm was observed Sunday morning. These crystals were  
destroyed by the sun during the day on solar aspects but  may have  
remained intact on North slopes at higher elevation and could have  
been buried by yesterday snow showers.

The ski out from our camp between Mt Cartier and Ghost Peak to the RMR  
boundary took 3.5hrs and is truly a spectacular tour on a high ridge  
affording breathtaking views of the Monashees and Selkirk Mountains.

We found this area challenging as it presents big, steep and complex  
terrain that can be difficult to avoid. Conditions need to be  
favourable and a great deal of experience is required to navigate  
safely through this big mountain terrain.

Sylvain Hebert
ACMG Ski Guide



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