[MCR] Howson Range, Burnie Glacier Chalet

[Public Mountain Conditions Report]

This morning at Burnie Glacier a warm storm front arrived with
sustained strong winds from the SW and rain up to 1500 m. At 2:00 pm
today we recorded a temperature of +2 deg C near the top of Tom George
Mtn (1700 m) and below 1300 m the surface snow is wet.

Hazard in the alpine is currently rated Considerable, but this is
expected to deteriorate to High as the storm progresses.

Since March 7 the area has received about 50 cm of new snow and until
this morning the skiing has been excellent. The Feb 10 facet/crust
layer is down about 100 cm and showing hard compression test results
now. A small avalanche cycle occurred last Friday but no stepping down
to the Feb layer was observed. At treeline snowpack depths are around
350 cm, which is about average for this time of year. On the glaciers,
especially Burnie Glacier, there are more open crevasses than usual.

Regards,

Tom Wolfe
Mountain Guide ACMG/IFMGA
www.sawback.com
Canmore, Alberta