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        <title><![CDATA[Goat Range]]></title>
        <description>RSS of Goat Range</description>
        <pubDate>Wed, 04 Nov 2026 05:57:49 -0800</pubDate>
        <link>https://bcs-stage.websites.px-bcs.pixxell.co</link>
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            <title><![CDATA[Mt. Brennan The Not Exactly Straight Forward Way]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[I say the not-exactly-straight-forward way, but let me be clear, the way to completely&amp;nbsp;simplify your experience is to use a snowmobile. We are foreigners, and sadly, we don&amp;#39;t have a snowmobile.&amp;nbsp;

I&amp;#39;m from Oregon (another place one ought to have a snowmobile), and have spent a few weeks at a time in the Kootenays nearly every winter for the past four years. Brennan has been on the radar as a beautiful big objective and with the recent stability and clear weather, my partner and I decided it would be worth it to get up high and enjoy the crust. We spent a few hours route planning, cross referencing slope angle shading, topo maps, and google earth. Upon initial inspection the only questionable part of the up would be the first 500m or so. Having toured in the area a few times I knew we&amp;#39;d be starting from the highway, so I foolishly assumed a parking solution would be obvious upon arrival.&amp;nbsp;Monday morning arrived and the alarm went off at 4:00am. We&amp;nbsp;ended up parking an the Rossiter FSR junction, reasoning that the road to the TH would be faster travel than bushwacking and eliminate any creek crossings (truthfully this was my partners suggestion, and I secretly resent him for it - he didn&amp;#39;t use the beta on this site).&amp;nbsp;Skinning by 6:30, we immediately started going downhill. Since we&amp;#39;d assumed the FSR would steadily gain elevation, this was pretty frustrating, but not frustrating enough to make us charge up the roadcut...&amp;nbsp;so we slogged on. The road began to climb after crossing Rossiter&amp;nbsp;Creek.&amp;nbsp;

&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;(Sunrise and&amp;nbsp;a bit of a cloudcap)

To our ever growing frustration we began going downhill again immediately after reaching the trailhead.&amp;nbsp;At this point, the conversation of how pathetic we were and if we should bag it all together&amp;nbsp;was had, given that we had been skinning for about two hours and only netted 500m of vert. Spirits lifted once we linked up with the route we should&amp;#39;ve taken on&amp;nbsp;the other side (west side) of Lyle creek (snowmobile-able). The pace picked up once we hit the lower headwall before the lake.&amp;nbsp;

&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; (Lyle Lake sites in the basin above)

We hit the lake at 10:30 after four hours of skinning. The stretch from the TH to the lake had an established skin track and a fair amount of tracks, as well as a bomber sun crust and some impressive point releases from the rocks on east-facing wall of the bowl. From the lake there was an older skin track that had been covered by ~10cm of snow that followed the hiking trail up the first gully north of the lake. Once out of the gully we encountered an unexpected gift - POW! About 15-20cm of soft dry goodness cached on the east aspects between 2100m&amp;nbsp;to&amp;nbsp;2400m.&amp;nbsp;Per the forecast, we observed very little evidence of the PWL above the lake, but there was obvious windloading&amp;nbsp;on the S-SE facing ribs where drifts had completely buried the previous track.

&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;(The long-lost goodness)

The snow surface turned into sastrugi&amp;nbsp;with some creamy bits and a sprinkle of rime&amp;nbsp;once we climbed above the entrance to the south bowl. We hit the summit a little after 1:00PM&amp;nbsp;in cool temps with a moderate northwest wind.&amp;nbsp;

&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;(The summit views were truly spectacular)

We had originally planned on taking a peek at the south bowl on our ski down and potentially skiing out that way, however, the cold dry snow we&amp;#39;d seen on the way up was too tempting. We figured the south bowl would be quite crusty and the lower ramp out even more heinous in comparison, so we opted for some of the deepest pow turns yet this winter (a sad reality). Back at the lake, the crust battle began.&amp;nbsp;

After slash turning and a bit of prayer we arrived at the trailhead ACL&amp;#39;s intact. Disgruntled that we now had to put our skins back on, the 5-6km road slog with more unnecessary climbing crushed our spirits even more. The plan was formulated to ski the clear cuts, jump on the road until it crossed Rossiter&amp;nbsp;Creek and then dive off fall line&amp;nbsp;toward&amp;nbsp;the highway before the road went uphill. Needless to say, this was a bushy dripline skate and we paid for it by snapping the tail of a Fischer Hannibal&amp;nbsp;on a wild backseat turn&amp;nbsp;in&amp;nbsp;between two cedars. Back at the car with three of four skis intact and thankfully four of four eyeballs, we wearily mused about our terrible route finding.

NOTE: Use the beta listed under the route section on this site - don&amp;#39;t do what we did. If you do you can plan on a hair over 24km roundtrip&amp;nbsp;and a 2300m day.&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;]]></description>
            <pubDate>2019-02-01 17:36:24</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/goat-range/topic/Mt.%20Brennan</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/goat-range/topic/Mt.%20Brennan</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Conditions Nov 10]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Great skiing in the Goat Range with 100-140cm at 6-7,000 ft but widespread natural avalanche activity 10-40cm soft slabs on east aspects. 10mm surface hoar buried 20-50cm down. This storm better shake things up.]]></description>
            <pubDate>2015-11-10 21:19:32</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/goat-range/topic/conditions-nov-10</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/goat-range/topic/conditions-nov-10</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Ski Touring around New Denver, British Columbia]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[I can provide accommodation, and snowmobile support for ski touring in this area. &amp;nbsp;The best drive to ski touring destination in British Columbia. More information at http://www.offthecouchadventur.....logspot.ca&amp;nbsp;
]]></description>
            <pubDate>2014-12-09 15:52:02</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/goat-range/topic/ski-touring-around-new-denver-british-columbia</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/goat-range/topic/ski-touring-around-new-denver-british-columbia</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[White Water Canyon and Area, A Great Place for Fall Hiking]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Last night I drempt I was skiing. It&amp;#39;s that time of year.. your head is full of anticipation for the snow to fly, but it&amp;#39;s not quite ski season. So, might as well keep on hiking right?
These first two pictures are from a place closer to Nelson but I thought I would post them too, as they were within the same weekend. There is nothing quite like a larch forest.. so pretty.


These next two photos are from Whitewater Canyon, an amazing place in the Goat Range. Extremely steep mountains rise up out of a deep canyon, with the trail snaking along the edge of the left side of the valley. I know these pictures don&amp;#39;t do it justice. This place is magnificent. You&amp;#39;ll have to go see for yourself some time.
It was a stormy, cold and snowy day when we did the hike up, but it was still very beautiful. Whitewater Canyon is home to many grizzly bears, but we didn&amp;#39;t see signs of any, despite having one searching eye on the slope opposite the trail.
I have to say this is one of the coolest shoulder season hikes I have ever done. Even without tagging a summit (or nice weather for that matter), this hike delivers incredible scenery, a good workout, fall color, and on a snowy day, gives you a little taste of winter.

]]></description>
            <pubDate>2013-11-05 11:49:26</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/goat-range/topic/white-water-canyon-and-area-a-great-place-for-fall-hiking</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/goat-range/topic/white-water-canyon-and-area-a-great-place-for-fall-hiking</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Skiing&#039;s coming but we&#039;re still biking. The Monster, Nelson BC]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[We took a trip out to Nelson from the coast last week, for a little biking and a little family time.
This  is Mike at the snowy top of The Monster, a trail starting from the top  of Mt Buchannon. You can drive right to the summit on a good dirt road  (at least it looked good compared to some of the ones we&amp;#39;ve driven on  lately..). There was snow on the last km, and it was really super cold  and windy up top, but the view was outstanding.
There&amp;#39;s a great view of Mt Loki straight across the valley (sidenote: Mt Loki is a fantastic mountain to scramble if you ever get the chance! One of my favorites in the Nelson area.) and a wonderful view of Kootenay Lake.
A quick change  out of the puffy, into biking gear, and Mike was off with the dog for  the 4000ft descent. He beat the truck down and had an epic ride, taking  the older trail down a narrow spine, with the dog on his heels.



]]></description>
            <pubDate>2013-10-22 09:36:06</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/goat-range/topic/skiings-coming-but-were-still-biking-the-monster-nelson-bc</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/goat-range/topic/skiings-coming-but-were-still-biking-the-monster-nelson-bc</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Personal Account of the March 9th, 2013 Avalanche at Empire Cabin]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[ 
Empire Cabin Avalanche, March 9th 2013 &amp;nbsp;~9:45 a.m.

&amp;ldquo;Hey Nat, I&amp;rsquo;m going to start skiing, watch me.&amp;rdquo;

The slope was inviting, glistening snow, and a nice long moderate/steep line out to the bowl&amp;rsquo;s high point where we would regroup.
One turn, two turns&amp;hellip;I started to relax into the slope, but seconds later noticed the large blocks that were forming all around me. I couldn&amp;rsquo;t hear anything, I just stared in horror as I tried to ski out right, only to be met by an ever extending crown line, and thousands of pounds of snow pulling me down the slope. I looked below me and saw a sizeable larch in the way of my trajectory. I was too entrenched to even be able to try and move to either side of it. WHAM- &amp;nbsp;I hit the tree full on, darkness enveloped me, and I was under the snow.
Still fully conscious, I was extremely aware of my body as it went completely limp, rag dolling down the slope. Feeling myself hit numerous trees as I was dragged down the slope, I remember having a fleeting thought that I&amp;rsquo;d be a goner if my head or back smashed into one of those trees. I also remember having the thought that once I felt the snow slow down, I would have to make sure I had some sort of airway to prolong an air pocket if I was buried. WHAM- &amp;nbsp;I hit something else with a lot of force, but this time I could feel myself pinned against it as the snow flowed past me, shoving itself up my back, underneath my jacket. My head was bowed downslope, as the snow continued to flow over and past me, and I couldn&amp;rsquo;t tell if I was buried or not. Eventually, the pressure against me from the snow diminished, and I could lift my head slightly. I saw blue sky, a branch, and a sense of relief washed over me as I realized I was not buried, I was still alive, and I could feel my entire body. &amp;nbsp;Looking down, I could see the slide flowing and slowing down, a sizeable debris pile fanning out onto the flats below. I was caught in between two trees, my torso was partially wrapped around the trunk of another sizeable larch with my legs below me. My skis and backpack had been ripped off of me without me even noticing. I started yelling, letting the rest of the group know I was ok. I tried to pull myself up, and while I could stand on my left leg, I looked down and saw my right lower leg was at an odd angle, and seemed much floppier than usual. I tried to deny that anything was wrong, but as I bent over to take a look and lifted my snowpants, the blood oozing out told me otherwise. I stopped trying to look at it, fearing that I might pass out if what I saw was too gruesome.
Soon, one of my friends skied down to me, and then another, and they dug a small platform where they lay me down on top of a Z-rest they had been carrying for their dog. They covered me with all of their down clothing, and even despite that and the sun shining, I started to shiver and shake as the preliminary stages of shock set in. We discussed what they should do to try and get help, as it was likely we would need a heli evacuation. I knew there was cell reception in parts of the bowl, and near the cabin, so I told them that if they could find my backpack, my cell phone was in it and they could use it to call for help from one of the ridges. We could hear sleds in the valley, and earlier we had watched as a helicopter from Stellar Heli Ski flew guests to the north of us. At least we weren&amp;rsquo;t completely stranded, and it was only 10 a.m. on a bluebird day, which meant we still had a lot of daylight left for a rescue. This helped to ease my mind as I fought to stay calm and breathe. Two more friends came down the slope to stay with me as the other two went for help. Both Level 3 first aiders with experience, they exposed my lower right leg after doing a rapid body survey, and found a compound fracture at my boot top. They removed my boot with incredible care, and bandaged my leg so the bleeding would be slowed down. I continued to concentrate on my breathing, and only went into shock for about 10 minutes where I had no control over my body- it seized up so strongly that I couldn&amp;rsquo;t even open my tightly clenched fists, despite my concentration and will to relax. I had never experienced such helplessness in my own body.

After a while, the two that had gone for help returned, saying that Search and Rescue would be on their way within the hour.
Soon, we could hear the drone of the helicopter as it did a fly by, assessing whether they would try and longline me from where I was, or get me down to where the helicopter would land and load me internally. They decided to load me internally, and soon a paramedic and a SAR member were at my side with Entonox and a blood pressure cuff while my friends helped to bring up the clamshell and basket stretcher. My vitals were remarkably stable, and the Entonox	took the edge off of the movement and bumping as I was loaded onto the board and into the basket. They had to lower me down in three separate 15m belays before they could slide the basket along the snow to the helicopter. The plan was to fly me to Trail, and soon I was up in the air, straining to look out of the floor-level window at Retallack&amp;rsquo;s tenure, and then the Kokanee and Woodbury Glaciers as we flew through the beautiful Selkirks. My rescuers were kind enough to give me a pillow to prop me up for better viewing, and some sunglasses to reduce the glare of the sun.
That evening, I was in surgery in Trail hospital where they inserted a metal rod between my broken tib/fib, and attached it with screws, top and bottom. I would end up having a second surgery a few days later to remove the anti-biotic beads that they implanted in the wound to prevent infection. I spent one week in Trail hospital, as my hemoglobin had plummeted, verging on the need for a blood transfusion. They held off though, and I spent a number of days where even sitting upright would make my head spin and I would break into a cold sweat, trying to fight off an impending black-out.

As a recap of how things went from a rescue perspective, I find it hard to think of how things could have gone any smoother. I had the utmost trust in my friends who were caring for me, knowing that they were all competent in regards to first aid, critical thinking, problem solving and of course, backcountry travel. This was absolutely crucial in my ability to remain calm and focus on myself, as opposed to the alternative of feeling insecure, unsafe and not knowing if important things were being taken care of. My friends were prepared with first aid kits, and more importantly, knew how to use them in that situation.
Search and Rescue had apparently been forewarned by Stellar that an avalanche with skier involvement had occurred, and they should expect to get a call soon. That meant that by the time my friends got through to them, they were already re-fueling in anticipation of coming out to us, greatly reducing my wait time, which is always a huge bonus.
We were fortunate that the event occurred early in the day, and that the weather was spectacular, which meant no complications for extraction and flying.

In terms of how the event happened in the first place, there are definitely a number of factors that came up in discussions post event. The area was new for all of us, with the exception of me who had skied one day in the area around Empire cabin with one of the society members although I hadn&amp;rsquo;t been to the exact spot where the avalanche occurred.
The day before the avalanche, we had spent the afternoon digging pits on various aspects, observing as much terrain as we could and noticing some smaller natural slides on different aspects. Our pits and compression tests were not giving us results that were particularly alarming, however we were aware that there were a couple significant weak layers in certain areas, mostly the mid February crust/surface hoar combination that had been on peoples&amp;rsquo; radar for the last several weeks.
The pits and tests we observed were definitely not conclusive, but they did give us a sense that with careful terrain choice, we would be able to ski fairly safely in most areas.
Our group was mixed in terms of experience- some had been skiing together for a few years, others had just started backcountry skiing this season. All were fit, enthusiastic and positive, and looking forward to a fun 5 days of skiing.
Perhaps because of my one day of skiing in the area, I was seen as the &amp;lsquo;knowledgeable&amp;rsquo; one, so on the morning of March 9th, we set out as a group and I was in the lead. Some of us had discussed in more detail where we wanted to go, and others were happy to just follow behind. Those of us in front made the decision of going farther along the ridge in order to ski the slopes across the bowl by what is known as Cabin Peak, reasoning that it would be a great run, setting us up for our next objective of another climb across the valley. We figured that although south facing, it was early enough in the day that solar effect would not be strong enough to destabilize the snow, and that it was a windward slope, so perhaps less affected by the surface hoar layers found in other more protected areas.
As I lead out along the ridge, staying back from the cornices that were on the north side, I didn&amp;rsquo;t hear or see anything in the snow that made me second guess the decision to head to those slopes. I dropped into a small &amp;lsquo;safe&amp;rsquo; area that had barely enough room for all nine of us to de-skin and regroup, but it seemed like the best option at the time. One by one, people side slipped there way over to where I was, and I directed them to the flattish area around me. I assessed the slope, and it looked great- a nice moderate to steep line on a rib-feature of the larger slope with small stand of trees farther down that lead into the bowl below, and then a high point with a few more trees. I decided that would be our regroup area, as it would be well out of the way of any sluff or avalanche debris were something to happen, and it would give people a good visual of where to aim for while going down one at a time. I discussed this with a few friends that were close by, and they agreed that it sounded like a good plan. I was ready first, and since I knew where it was I wanted to get to, I suggested that I would go first. One friend pointed out that there was a small section below the trees where she wouldn&amp;rsquo;t be able to see me until I skied out into the bowl below. I said that was fine, as I figured it would only be a very small section, and that possibly I could go farther skiers left where the slope was more continuous. I started skiing, and the rest of the story you know already.

Looking back, two of the major factors that were overlooked had to do with group dynamics and terrain assessment. I have gone over the whole situation numerous times by myself, and in discussion with others who were there, as well as with avalanche professionals, and I will share the key points that came up.
We were with a large group, and while that in itself can be a red flag, in this case I think it was more the fact that there were certain people non-verbally given leadership/guide status, while others felt they were just along for the ride. In any situation, group discussion and input from everyone is not only important, but also very useful. With this group, that didn&amp;rsquo;t happen, or at least not as much as perhaps it should have, as I was more concerned with keeping the group moving, and relied on input from those immediately around me, thinking that those behind were fine with just following, as had been expressed before.

Terrain assessment is something that we are continually working on, and unfortunately the times you learn the most are often the times when something goes wrong and your choices are put under sharp scrutiny. In this case, I neglected to think twice about my friends&amp;rsquo; comment that she would not be able to see me after a certain point- this should have been a red flag that I was about to ski a slope that was unsupported, at least in part, and of course, that part was what ended up giving way. The trees on the slope gave a false sense of security, and perhaps if we had taken an extra few minutes to look very critically at that particular slope, we would have decided it was too unsupported to ski, or at least taken a step back to look at some other options.

My hope in sharing this story is that it will open up a space for people to discuss their own incidents as well, and not feel shame in having made a &amp;lsquo;mistake&amp;rsquo;. I am fortunate enough to be able to learn from this experience, and it would be even better if it opens up an opportunity for others to learn from it as well.
Thanks you to everyone who has helped out before, during and after this event, my appreciation and gratitude is definitely beyond words.

Happy skiing,
M.

Photo credit to N. Stafl
Looking down the slope from where I was caught
 

I was caught between these two trees, which saved me from being buried, and is probably what broke my leg.
  

Looking up slope, slightly left from centre is where I was caught between the trees.


View of the slide.
 

 
]]></description>
            <pubDate>2013-04-11 20:52:29</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/goat-range/topic/personal-account-of-the-march-9th-2013-avalanche-at-empire-cabin</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/goat-range/topic/personal-account-of-the-march-9th-2013-avalanche-at-empire-cabin</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Dog Tooth Dash - Ski Mo Race]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Come on out to the Dog Tooth Dash in Golden Feb 11-12. Only $50&amp;nbsp;including lift tickets and great prizes! Saturday test yourself in the individual race on either the Enduro or the Elite course and on Sunday enter the team relay with teams of 2 to 4.
For more info check out:
http://goldenskimo.wordpress.c.....ooth-dash/]]></description>
            <pubDate>2012-02-01 23:16:24</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/goat-range/topic/dog-tooth-dash-ski-mo-race</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/goat-range/topic/dog-tooth-dash-ski-mo-race</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[COMP - Mt. Brennan South Bowl at Sunset]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[I&amp;rsquo;d been skiing quite a few days already this season. And I was looking for something bigger, the forecast was sunny and the avy danger was Moderate Low Low. Time to get a hold of my touring partner in Winlaw and get to the Goat Range.&amp;nbsp; Sure enough, Derek and I made a plan to tour Mt. Brennan Dec. 9. Ambitious goal for December&amp;rsquo;s short days but we knew there would be a skin track and budgeted 5 hours for our ascent.
Derek had been denied the summit last winter by a cloud.&amp;nbsp; As we hiked the logging road and gained the lake he kept reassuring me that this time we were going to make it. The skies stayed clear and as we approached the summit the wind affected snow became pretty hard to edge into.



5 hours after we left the truck we were on the summit for great views and hot tea. The sun was lying low in the sky as we descended from the peak, making our way across the sastrugi. I stopped at the entrance ramp to the south bowl and it looked glorious.



We took some time to ponder the descent and knew that everything had come together.







After such an amazing day we had to stop at Odin&amp;#39;s Pub in New Denver for a burger and beer. We were still in shock that we had skied that run, especially in December.

(Not part of the comp, but if you want to take a look at the video Derek put together of the descent you can find it here&amp;nbsp;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....aOk94XawfA)
For a route description with a picture of the south bowl look here: http://backcountryskiingcanada.....0Mountains
]]></description>
            <pubDate>2011-12-20 15:30:53</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/goat-range/topic/comp-mt-brennan-south-bowl-at-sunset</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/goat-range/topic/comp-mt-brennan-south-bowl-at-sunset</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Nakusp &amp;amp; area trails?]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Im new to ski touring but does any one know of any simple-challenging touring trails/routes around the nakusp areaall feed back appreciated&amp;nbsp;]]></description>
            <pubDate>2011-11-23 18:01:13</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/goat-range/topic/nakusp-area-trails</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/goat-range/topic/nakusp-area-trails</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Selkirks: Valkyr Range conditions]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[The latest Public Mountain Conditions report:

Another good week at Valkyr Lodge. We didn&amp;#39;t receive much snow over the week in this zone but the skiing was good nonetheless.&amp;nbsp;

Our main concerns for most of the week were isolated windslabs and large cornices.&amp;nbsp;There were a few small naturally-triggered windslab avalanches and two large cornice falls with a wind event the night of the 18th/19th.

A significant warming event occurred March 20, which caused us to avoid solar aspects. This bright day caused suncrusts to form on all sun affected slopes from E thru NW aspects from mountain top to the valley bottoms.&amp;nbsp;Numerous loose snow and thin slab avalanches occurred on south aspects on March 20 with the warming.

We didn&amp;#39;t see evidence of widespread deeper instabilities in snow profiles or with the warming event, cornice falls or skiing. However, our nearest neighbours have been seeing issues associated with suncrusts buried in February and early March on south aspects.

Drove through Rogers Pass and the Rockies last evening and things were looking decidedly spring-like with lots of wet snow avalanches and most slopes looking like they&amp;#39;ve had some degree of cooking.

Mark Klassen
Mountain Guide]]></description>
            <pubDate>2011-03-22 15:41:43</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/goat-range/topic/selkirks-valkyr-range-conditions-1</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/goat-range/topic/selkirks-valkyr-range-conditions-1</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Goat Range Conditions]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[The latest update....
Just got back from four days of cat skiing in the Lardeau drainage near Meadow Creek.
Wow what a storm! &amp;nbsp;Most notable of this one was the 80cm dump of storm snow. &amp;nbsp;It was quite warm but the freezing level stayed just below our tenure. &amp;nbsp;Even though, the snow was very heavy near the bottom of the runs at 1500m.
We skied most runs between 2300m and 1800m to stay out of the schmoo. &amp;nbsp;Because the storm started out cold then warmed up, the new snow had an upside down feature with denser snow above less dense snow. &amp;nbsp;Made for challenging skiing with the skis diving into the softer layer. &amp;nbsp;On Sunday the snow became reactive with small soft slabs sliding down between the ski tracks. &amp;nbsp;These didn&amp;#39;t propagate or run very far. &amp;nbsp;We saw one small natural avalanche that came off a steep bluff. &amp;nbsp;Hand shears produced moderate planar results down 40cm and this layer continued to be reactive with more snow Sunday night. &amp;nbsp;We stayed in the trees and avoided any steep, open terrain.&amp;nbsp;
I&amp;#39;d expect the conditions were less stable in the alpine but the poor visibility limited our observations. &amp;nbsp;By the time I left, the settled snow depth was a good 2m.&amp;nbsp;
With the current cooling trend, I&amp;#39;m hoping the snow will dry out instead of forming a melt/freeze crust. &amp;nbsp;But, I can only hope...

Play safe,
Craig Hollinger,ACMG Assistant Ski Guide.]]></description>
            <pubDate>2011-01-19 01:37:16</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/goat-range/topic/goat-range-conditions</link>
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            <title><![CDATA[Sandon &amp;amp; London Ridge, Goat Range, South Selkirks]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Here is some field  info after teaching AST 1 and 2 courses from Jan. 6-10 in the New Denver  area:
&amp;nbsp;
Jan. 7 (light rain  and&amp;nbsp;overcast at 7:30am in New Denver). Up white Creek in&amp;nbsp;Sandon as the storm was  winding down&amp;nbsp;we were getting isolated whumpfing&amp;nbsp;with large loads (several  skiers) and able to trigger small unsupported features down 25-30 cm on&amp;nbsp;the  Jan.&amp;nbsp;4 surface hoar, which was quite large in one&amp;nbsp;clearcut near valley  bottom.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;
Jan. 8 (-1C  and&amp;nbsp;overcast at 7:30am in New Denver). At 6100ft. on a NE aspect (Sandon, Cable  Bowl) we had easy compression test results with a progressive compression  fracture character on&amp;nbsp;the Jan 4 storm snow interface and could not locate the  surface in an open glade.&amp;nbsp; A facet layer down 50-60cm gave hard results with a  resistant planar character.&amp;nbsp; Good ski quality up high, but alders were  still&amp;nbsp;poking out&amp;nbsp;below about 5500ft.&amp;nbsp; The new storm snow did allow us to ski the  tighter forest right down to valley bottom without too much  trouble.
&amp;nbsp;
Jan. 9 (-6C  and&amp;nbsp;overcast at 7am in New Denver).&amp;nbsp; 25-30cm deep trail breaking to the London  Ridge area.&amp;nbsp; Visibility opened up in the alpine and we saw numerous crown lines  from a cycle that occurred during the last storm (25-35cm deep with up to 10cm  new load on bed surfaces).&amp;nbsp; Most slabs did not run full path&amp;nbsp;but one size 2-2.5  on a steep, east aspect at ridgetop (7400ft) caught our eye.&amp;nbsp; Light to moderate  wind transport had occurred at ridgetop from a southwesterly flow.&amp;nbsp; Many layers  were visible in the snowpack on a south aspect at 5700ft but the storm snow down  30cm (giving easy, resistant shears but no result on an Extended Column Test)  and a faceted crust down 65-80cm (giving hard, variable results) seemed the most  active.&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;
Jan. 10 (-11C and  clear at 8am in New Denver).&amp;nbsp; Back at London Ridge (great skiing)&amp;nbsp;we found 2  more size 2s on south and east aspects that failed on the Jan. 4 layer during  the last storm.&amp;nbsp; At 6000 ft. on&amp;nbsp;a SE aspect we had moderate, variable fracture  character results on the storm interface down 35cm and hard results on a thick  crust layer down ~100cm (in a 170cm snow pack) which gave some sudden planar and  some broken fracture characters (Extended Column Test No result).&amp;nbsp;  HS 200cm at  our high point of 6700cm on a somewhat lee slope.
&amp;nbsp;
Excellent ski  quality, but we were avoiding larger, steep, open slopes, convexities and  unsupported features and employing safe travel practices to minimize our  exposure.
&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;
Cheers,
Shaun King&amp;nbsp; ACMG / UIAGM Mountain Guide
Mountain Sense Guiding &amp;amp;  Instruction
http://www.mountainsense.ca&amp;nbsp;
]]></description>
            <pubDate>2011-01-12 03:26:11</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/goat-range/topic/sandon-london-ridge-goat-range-south-selkirks</link>
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            <title><![CDATA[London Ridge, Goat Range - conditions]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Here is the latest Public Mountain Conditions Report for the London Ridge are in the goat Range of the Selkirks:
On Jan 2, &amp;nbsp;fellow guides Ramin Sherkat and Joe Pavelich joined me for a ski tour at London ridge on the road between New Denver and Kaslo. The observations are now &amp;nbsp;48 hrs old but are still relevant.
It was a beautiful sunny day with an inversion warming temperatures at treeline and above creating moist snow at the surface and later a thin crust on southerly aspects.
Windslabs were found at ridge tops only from past moderate to strong northerly winds. One recently naturally released avalanche size 2 was observed on a steep North slope.
A snow profile at 1850m on a south aspect showed crusts at 50, 60 and 70cm down from the surface with the crust at 50cm being the sliding layer (uneven break) on an extended column test producing Hard result values. Snow depth was 130cm.
The snowpack is generally shallow and yet feels strong enough in most places. Where the weakness of the snowpack really shows is nearby smaller trees where sugary snow gives away easily and shallow areas near ridge tops and rocks.
Tree wells are definitely something to reckon with in this area!
London ridge is steep and exposed almost everywhere and we felt comfortable enough with the terrain exposure and stability tests results to continue on our ascent, but we all felt that large, unsupported, smooth planar slopes would be best left alone due to the presence of the crust 50cm down in the pack. Having said that, we skied the South facing avalanche path leading to Bear Lake without any problems. The best skiing was found on a East facing slope where the snow stayed cold and sheltered from the sun and wind.
The suncrust and faceted surface snow will now be covered with new snow and could become weak layers to watch in the future.

All the best for 2011!
Sylvain Hebert, ACMG Ski guide]]></description>
            <pubDate>2011-01-05 14:35:09</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/goat-range/topic/london-ridge-goat-range-conditions</link>
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            <title><![CDATA[Skier Injured on Mt Brennan]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[On Saturday June 12th,the&amp;nbsp;Kaslo RCMP were called to assist an injured skier on Mt. Brennan near Retallak. A 59 year old man from the Kaslo area was skiing when a section of snow gave way causing the man to be pushed into some large rocks. As a result of the injuries suffered, the man was unable to make his way off the mountain. Other members of the group placed a call for assistance. Members from the Kaslo and Nelson Search and Rescue attended the area and assisted the man. He was removed from the mountain by helicopter and transported to hospital where he was treated for minor injuries.]]></description>
            <pubDate>2010-08-02 22:32:54</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/goat-range/topic/skier-injured-on-mt-brennan</link>
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