[MCR] Fairy Meadows, Northern Selkirks, April 2-9, 2011

Just returned from an incredible week of skiing in Fairy Meadows with a group from the ACC.  We were able to do a lot of great tours including the summits of Mt Quadrant, Sentinel Peak and Enterprise Mountain, as well as many classic ski lines in the Houdini Needles, off Friendship Col and on the Granite and Forbes Glaciers, all of which had great north facing powder!  

 

We had cool temperatures ranging from -7 to -11'C in the mornings and 40-45cm of new snow over the first half of the week with little wind effect.  This was on top of the 50-70cm of snow that fell late in the previous week so it made for great skiing and hard work on the up tracks until the last couple of days when the weather cleared up and things began to settle out.  The snowpack on the glaciers was over 320cm+ everywhere we probed and we were able to travel with confidence on the ice which was nice.

 

We skied quite aggressively on North aspects with our main concern being wind loaded pockets near ridge tops.  South aspects on the other hand were avoided all week, with large settlements, shooting cracks and a skier remote avalanche observed whenever someone ventured into steeper South facing terrain.  These were occurring on buried sun crusts in the top 100cm of snow.  Concern for solar triggered slides off of steep solar aspects and cornice failures as the days warmed up were also present.

 

Seems like the winter just keeps getting better!
 

Cheers, Conrad Janzen
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
www.banffmountainguides.com

_______________________________________________
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.