A beautiful bluebird day for a quick ski up White Queen. Chilly start
to the day though, -22C at the car at 10PM (1430m). Must have been an
inversion going on as the temp rose to -17C at 1600m 20 minutes later
and remained around -16C while I was up high.
Despite the lack of new snow the ski quality was excellent with at least
boot-top ski penetration. Still early season skiing though, I had to
avoid numerous christmas trees, stumps and fallen logs on the trip
down. The snow depth varied from 70-80cm at the car to around 200cm
near the summit (2200m). The weekend's winds pounded the snow into
patches of 5cm thick hard slab along the ridge-top above 2000m. These
were easily avoided by skiing just below the ridge-line. I observed
some wind scouring on nearby Whale's Back and other exposed ridge
features. I could even see 'upsidedown' ski tracks! The wind was calm
today.
The upper layer of the snowpack has a strong temperature gradient: -22C
on the surface to -14C 30cm down. The resulting facets (weak, sugary
snow) contributed the the good skiing. There is a widespread 5mm thin
crust buried 15-20cm down at all elevations I visited. It was more
apparent at lower elevations, but it didn't affect the ski quality. I
didn't observe any surface hoar (large, feathery snow crystals) anywhere
although the snow surface was quite glittery in the sun.
I didn't see any recent avalanche activity. Loose snow sloughing was
minimal, even with aggressive turns on steeper terrain.
Have fun, play safe.
Craig Hollinger
ACMG Assistant Ski Guide.
_______________________________________________
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.