[MCR] Hector Lake area skiing, Banff NP

[Public Mountain Conditions Report]

I skied in the Hector Lake area today with a group of friends. 10cm storm
snow overnight and steady snow flurries this morning with little wind added
to the upper low density snow to make for excellent skiing. Compression
test results were inconclusive with a broken shear down about 50cm in one
test with low density (up to 4F) snow interspersed with a couple of soft
wind crusts above. Snow depth was 170 at treeline. Bottom 40cm was large
facets/depth hoar. We used caution around and/or avoided thinner snowpack
areas (due to the basal facets) and windloaded ridge crests.

We skied moderate sized treeline and alpine features to 40+ degrees on E
aspects. Power sluffing (fast skiier triggered loose avalanches) in steep
terrain required fast skiing and sluff management to keep from being
knocked over.

There's a hibernating bear in the area. While skiing to our destination
we accidentally walked within 1m of him (almost hit him with a ski pole)
before noticing him and it looked like we disturbed him as he stirred and
rolled his head around a bit. We reported this right away (Karsten Heuer, a
Parks Canada biologist, was with us) and the result is a closure of the
area to protect the bear and people. This affects access to some of the
skiing at the south end of Pulpit knob and further south so be sure to
check the closure notice carefully and/or contact Parks staff to see how
this might affect your travel plans.

Regards,
Tom Wolfe, ACMG/IFMGA
Burnie Glacier Chalet - Feb 17-24, spaces available!
http://bearmountaineering.ca/index.php/ski-mountaineering-at-the-burnie-glacier-chalet-week-7
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