Back up Asulkan
Valley on Thursday Nov.1 –
with skis this time.
15cm. of snow overnight in the parking lot grew to 30cm. at
the head of the valley.
60 -100 cms. of total snowpack up to treeline, with one thin
breakable crust 30 cms. from the surface, and a second much stronger one down
60cms. no shear above the upper crust but failed below if crust is cut –
lower crust appeared well bonded.
In the alpine the upper crust disappeared and total snowpack
depth climbed to an average of 150cm. – this was on a windward Alpine
feature (Youngs peak side of the valley) and could definitely be deeper on a
more lee or protected feature. I have attached a photo of the headwall of Youngs
Pk. Which appeared quite scoured and thin – you will note several exposed
crevasse that break the slope most people ski up and down – may be a good
image to file away in case you do a trip there this winter when things are not
so obvious.
I managed to ski in and out walking a few tricky spots only –
one thing to keep in mind if you are heading that way is that early season,
after the mousetrap, you are forced to follow the summer trail that cuts up
under the slopes of Lookout mountain definitely exposing you way more than
where people travel in the winter.
Generally Asulkan valley is pretty rugged terrain (lots of
boulders, trees etc) so it is not super conducive to early season skiing –
I had some great skiing but it is worth letting it fatten up a bit (which is
happening as I type).
Keep them slippery side down
Scott Davis
Mountain Guide
