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Yippee McGee
Location Name:
Upper McGee Creek
Observation date:
Sunday, November 29, 2020 - 16:30
Is this an Avalanche Observation:
No
Observation made by:
Public
Tabs
Quick Observation
Really nice day noodling around in the Apgars
Despite the shallow coverage (bare ground) up to 5000' in the nearby in the McDonald Valley. Snow coverage is better in the Apgar Range with skis on at 3800'.
We skiied SE, SW, and NE slopes today. Southern slopes harbored mixed conditions from scrapey, punchy, to shallow pow. Best riding conditons were in sheltered areas. Our NE facing run was mostly gladed and harbored great snow.
Minimal signs of instability today, however we did observed some isolated cracking near ridgetops on previously loaded slopes.
We dug a pit on an ENE facing slope near ridgetop at ~6400' and found a strong snowpack. Our only notable concern was some weak snow underlying a melt-freeze crust that sits 22cm below the surface. This layer failed with hard force on and extended column test but did not propagate. (ECTN22).
People are still bootpacking the skin track up high, just something to consider.
Snowpack, Avalanche, Weather Images:
Travel Details
Region:
Glacier National Park - Apgar Range
Activity:
Skiing
Snowpack Details
Snowpack and Weather Details:
Terrain
Elevation of observation:
3500-5000 ft
5000-6500 ft
Aspect(s) of observation:
NE
E
SE
S
SW
Persistent Weak Layers:
Facets or Faceted Crust
Buried
New Snow in the past 24 hours:
0.00in.
Total Snow Depth:
114
Blowing Snow:
None
Wind Speed:
Light (Twigs in motion)
Wind Direction:
South
Air temperature:
Below Freezing
Sky Cover:
Mostly Clear (FEW)