Went for a tour in the Whistler Backcountry yesterday (Jan. 4th) to try and gather some info on the snowpack and see if we could find some safe turns. We toured up the ridge/ski area boundary from the bottom of the Symphony Chair towards Lesser Flute and did a couple of laps in the trees off the ridge towards Oboe Creek, finishing by skiing out Singing Pass Trail.
Elevation: 1560 to 2000m
Temperatures: -6.5 to -9.5 deg C
Height of snow: 80 – 160cm
Sky: Obscured, snowing
Ski penetration: 30-60cm
Foot penetration: 60-80cm
Wind: Moderate SE at ridgetop
Snowpack: Varied greatly with terrain and elevation, containing many facet layers but each pit we dug was significantly different.
We observed some localized whumpfing and cracking near trees, but we stayed away from steep open slopes and glades (ie. Avalanche terrain) as snow profiles showed there is definately weak layers reactive amongst the rotten facets. No avalanches observed apart from very small soft 10cm slabs on very small terrain features from ski cutting.
Singing Pass trail was in good condition, the lower section having a couple of ditches to be wary of and we had to take our skis off twice to cross creeks. Oboe Creek still had holes with water showing, so we headed left into the trees where there was quite a bit of deadfall not covered, but manageable.
There was 30cm blower pow in my driveway when I got home, so stability is going to get worse before it gets better, be careful.
Alex Geary
Assistant Ski Guide
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