Spent the last two days ski touring in the K3 catski tenure. Excellent
conditions, beautiful calm days, warm in the sun but cold in the shade and on
the snow surface.
Good uphill ski travel with the only difficulties being the odd hard crust
under some fluff on steep south slopes near ridgetops. Downhill skiing just
plain excellent almost everywhere from alpine start zones to low elevation cut
blocks. A little wind effect just below ridge crests and the surface was just
starting to get warm on steep south this afternoon. Possibly a suncrust on
steep south tomorrow.
LOTS of steep skiing going on with a film crew hucking off BIG features and
catski guests skiing some moderately steep terrain. Our ski touring group skied
a couple of previously unskied alpine features with some long sections of 35 to
40 degrees. One was pure north, one east. Sloughing in steep terrain but that
has slowed down over the past two days. After a big slash, one film crew rider
triggered a very small slab(15cm deep by 15m wide) in VERY steep rocky terrain.
Surface hoar forming at all elevations and aspects and the fluff is starting to
facet. I sure hope the forecast is correct and it starts snowing soon. Keep an
eye on the public bulletins as it may get tricky if we get a big load on this
current surface.
Larry Stanier
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
laristan@xxxxxxxxx
_______________________________________________
These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The
ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in
continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable
nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information
provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions
Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field.
Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.
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