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After starting with some low expectations, Will Woods and I spent the last two days skiing on the Cirque Glacier, and the Crowfoot and Little Crowfoot Peaks. Conditions above 2200m were surprisingly good as long we stayed away from the wind scoured ridges and cols and stuck to thicker snowpack areas. Travel in general is fast and supportive especially on the glaciers. Ski penetration was between 5-10cm with some good skiing to be found on all aspects. Still lots of rocks to watch for when off the glaciers and plenty of wind slab to avoid. Below 2200m a breakable crust exists in most areas and the tree skiing is very poor because of this, however the snowpack is more supportive than before the big warm up and uptracking was quite reasonable. Snow depths on the Cirque Glacier averaged between 160-180cm. Of note is the presence of several crevasses in the upper quarter of the glacier, including a large open one that is in the fall line below the couloir leading down from the summit. It extends more than halfway across the glacier although part of it is thinly bridged. This would not be fun to encounter in poor visibility. (see attached photo) Snow depths on the Crowfoot Glacier averaged 140-150cm with just a few sags noted on the skiers left when descending from Little Crowfoot. Skiing was quite good on the glacier and most of the rest of the Wapta appeared to be in similar condition. Reports of good ski conditions yesterday on the Bow Glacier were also given to us. Travel conditions up and down the canyon leading to Bow Hut are as easy as it gets right now and most of Bow Lake can be skate skied. No new avalanches observed. Still some minor concerns for wind loading on steep unsupported terrain and the basal weakness in steep rocky terrain at tree line and above. All in all some fun skiing, nice summits and good travel. Nice to be pleasantly surprised!
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