Went to Surprise Pass yesterday and found up to 35cm of
recent new snow on a melt-freeze crust (in lower elevation much less and moist
new snow on a raincrust), which was well supportive except for the last few
meters of skiing down to Lake Louise late in the afternoon. Lots of old
fracture lines from last week’s avalanche cycle and the steep southern
aspect avalanche chutes above the trail to the Plain of Six Glaciers were coming
alive in the afternoon with radiation warming.
Overall good travel conditions and surprisingly good skiing
quality on the northern aspect coming off Surprise Pass with only little wind
effect, but some old avalanche debris towards the bottom.
Happy trails,
Jorg Wilz
Mountain Guide
OnTop ltd.
Certified Mountain Guides (ACMG / IFMGA / UIAGM)
Canada - Europe - USA
1-800 506-7177 or (001) (403) 678-2717
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