Today I skied the Lily Traverse with ascents of Castor Pk
and Mt Swanzy along the way.
Weather
Sunny with a few clouds all day, -3 deg at the Illecilewaet
parking lot at 5am, -8 deg on Castor Pk.
Snow conditions
There was 2cm of new snow over the last 24hrs at the parking
lot, and an average of 10cm near mountain tops overlying a very hard melt
freeze crust. This crust was supportable on skis and foot, and had not started
to break down by 12:30pm at the highway. The skiing in the alpine was excellent
creamy powder, becoming moist on E, S, W aspects by late morning up to mountain
tops. Snow coverage from the Illecilewaet and Loop Brook parking lots is still good and should last quite a while, but there was more dirt than snow at
Bostock.
Avalanche Observations
No new slab avalanches observed. A few new loose avalanches
up to size 1.5 were observed out of extreme terrain triggered by solar warming.
Skier triggered sluffing of the new snow was running a long way (up to 300m) on
terrain over 35 degrees on solar aspects by late morning, entraining all of the
new snow overlying the crust up to size 1.5.
Crevasses & Cornices
Crevasses mostly appeared still well filled in and bridged,
only a few sags observed. There are many big cornices to be found.
Equipment
I used ski crampons on slopes over 35 degrees to avoid the
new snow sliding on the crust, but almost got away without them. An ice axe was
reassuring on the summit ridge of Castor Pk, but boot crampons not required if
you’re confident on your feet.
Alex Geary
ACMG Ski Guide and Apprentice Rock Guide
gearyalex@xxxxxxxxxxx