[MCR] Kootenay Pass, Southern Selkirk Mountains

Went out for a quick ski tour up Cornice Ridge in Kootenay Pass today.
Much better conditions than I expected. Here are a few observations
from my trip.

There was about 80cm of snow at the highway and around 110cm up higher.
The air temperature was -5C during the afternoon and the wind was
moderate out of the south-west. The wind was transporting a significant
amount of snow building up the cornices on the ridge (that's why it's
called Cornice Ridge).

I dug a hasty pit at 1900m and found a thin melt/freeze crust down
40cm. The snow below that was well consolidated. I dropped in off the
summit of the ridge and skied down in the bowl below. With the wind the
new snow just below the ridge was starting to form a soft slab, but the
only concerns I had was the sloughing with each turn. After my run, I
gained the ridge again and skied back to the car. I managed to leave
some p-tex on a couple of poorly covered rocks on the lower part of the
ridge. Be careful down low.

It was a busy day in the Pass, the parking lot was as full as I've ever
seen it. Great start to the season.

Craig Hollinger,
ACMG Assistant Ski Guide.


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