Public Observation - Skiing in the Fern Creek/Rubideau Creek divide area, northern southern Apgar Range.

Location Name: 
Public Observation - Fern Creek/Rubideau Creek divide
Region: 
Glacier National Park - Apgar Range
Date and time of observation: 
Thu, 12/31/2015 - 12:00
Location Map: 

Red Flags: 
Recent loading by new snow, wind, or rain
Observation made by: Public
Snowpit Observations
Snowpack photos: 
Any other comments about the observation or links to outside pages that have more info on the observation: 

Spent the day skiing on the Fern Creek/Rubideau Creek divide in the southern Apgar Range.  We parked at the Fern Creek bridge to start our tour.  Adequate coverage made the approach pretty easy.

Temperatures were from about 10F in the am, warming into the high teens in the afternoon.  100% cloud cover for the entire day.  Skins on at 8am and back at the car about 5pm.  Winds were light with once and a while moderate gust, enough to visibly see some snow transportation along the ridge lines and creating some wind slabs.  The snow pack averaged about 100cm at 3800' and 185 - 200cms+ in some areas at 6000' +/_  

We skied north, north east, south east and south aspects up to 40 degrees.  We saw no signs of instability or recent avalanches.  There is a bit more snow in this area than we saw the previous day in the northern tier of the Apgar Range.  We found adequate coverage down to 3800' depending on the run.

Skiing was excellent on all aspects.

The gate at Fish Creek will be shut starting tomorrow, but we all agreed it would be worth the extra walk if the current conditions hold on.

 

Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
Yes
Cloud Cover: 
100% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Moderate (Small trees sway)
Precipitation: 
Snow
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Accumulation rate: 
Less than 1 in. per hour
Activity: 
Skiing
Precip Rate: 
S -1; very light snowfall, trace to 0.5cm/hour
High Temp. (C): 
-7
Low Temp. (C): 
-12