[MCR] London ridge, Goat Range, Selkirk Mtns

[Public Mountain Conditions Report]

On Jan 2,  fellow guides Ramin Sherkat and Joe Pavelich joined me for  
a ski tour at London ridge on the road between New Denver and Kaslo.  
The observations are now  48 hrs old but are still relevant.

It was a beautiful sunny day with an inversion warming temperatures at  
treeline and above creating moist snow at the surface and later a thin  
crust on southerly aspects.
Windslabs were found at ridge tops only from past moderate to strong  
northerly winds. One recently naturally released avalanche size 2 was  
observed on a steep North slope.
A snow profile at 1850m on a south aspect showed crusts at 50, 60 and  
70cm down from the surface with the crust at 50cm being the sliding  
layer (uneven break) on an extended column test producing Hard result  
values. Snow depth was 130cm.
The snowpack is generally shallow and yet feels strong enough in most  
places. Where the weakness of the snowpack really shows is nearby  
smaller trees where sugary snow gives away easily and shallow areas  
near ridge tops and rocks.
Tree wells are definitely something to reckon with in this area!
London ridge is steep and exposed almost everywhere and we felt  
comfortable enough with the terrain exposure and stability tests  
results to continue on our ascent, but we all felt that large,  
unsupported, smooth planar slopes would be best left alone due to the  
presence of the crust 50cm down in the pack. Having said that, we  
skied the South facing avalanche path leading to Bear Lake without any  
problems. The best skiing was found on a East facing slope where the  
snow stayed cold and sheltered from the sun and wind.
The suncrust and faceted surface snow will now be covered with new  
snow and could become weak layers to watch in the future.

All the best for 2011!

Sylvain Hebert
ACMG Ski guide