Observation: Summit

Location: Manitoba

Date:
Observer:
Route & General Observations

Started up the traditional route from the parking lot at 12:15. Snow quality varied: Icy skin track through the trees, supportable surface crust at treeline, soft crust over soft snow at the summit.

Didn’t see any recent avalanche activity or glide cracks on Manitoba, but many glide cracks apparent on the adjacent South-facing aspect of Silvertip.

Weather & Snow Characteristics
Please provide details to help us determine the weather and snowpack during the time this observation took place.
Weather

Sunny, clear, light wind from the North

Snow surface

Soft crust 2-3cm thick on top of soft snow layer 30cm thick

Snowpack

Snow pit on North aspect at 3500 feet, depth of 105cm. CT and ECT tests showed no reactivity. Snowpack seemed homogeneous and well-bonded; when I went to dig the column out after testing, it all came out in one huge chunk.

Shovel shear showed the surface layer was cohesive enough to pull away from the underlying snowpack, albeit with poor quality. This did not translate into any reactivity in the CT or ECT.

Photos & Video
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