We toured out from the Manitoba parking area towards Raven Ridge.
Following an established skin track up above the alders, we experienced two
large collapses. One on the skin track, and one while skinning up above the skin
track. These happened at about 2000′ elevation
We dug a pit in the trees just above the exposed slope where the collapses were
felt, actually taking advantage of a pit dug out by the party ahead of us.
Snow depth was about 120cm, with 10cm of large, weak facets at the bottom. Upper
snowpack was relatively homogenous, progressing from fist to 4F to 1F above the
facets.
Our ECT didn’t fail after 30 taps, but on one extra-forceful (from the heel of a
ski boot) tap, the depth hoar facets failed, propagating across the column.
Given the collapsing red flag and disconcerting pit results, we skied down the
trees and back to the car.