- Date
- vendredi 25 novembre 2016
The snow gods have delivered! We’ve had well over a metre of snow in the past 3 days and landscapes at almost all elevations have transformed significantly.
The snow gods have delivered! We’ve had well over a metre of snow in the past 3 days and landscapes at almost all elevations have transformed significantly.
Here’s James Wright making sensible choices by sticking to smaller slopes and lower angled terrain. Note the crack in the upper left of the photo. (Photo credit: Dan Cudlip)
Whereas last weekend you might have been able to drive to the cabin on Metal Dome at 1300m with bony skiing to the meadows, there’s now good coverage in the below treeline (BTL) zone. If it’s your first weekend out sledding, heads up when traveling through cutblocks and open forested areas, especially where the consequence of a relatively minor slide could be disastrous (like being pushed into a creek or through poorly covered terrain features such as rocks and stumps).
This is also a time of year when tree wells are a significant hazard: Check out pro snowboarder Justin Lamoureux’s video from yesterday (Nov 24th) on his Instagram page. It’s always a good idea to ride with a buddy, even more so right now with deep snow and even deeper tree wells. Check out the Deep Snow Safety website for more info.
I expect there will be a lot of anticipation for the weekend, with lots of great photos already posted on social media in the past few days. If I were heading out on Saturday morning I’d use extra caution on steep slopes and ease into things to see what conditions are like. The usual pattern in this region is for storm snow to settle rapidly (and we have seen some of this already) but it’s up to you to assess local conditions: think of the bulletin as a starting point for your backcountry decision making but watch out for telltale signs like recent avalanches or snow cracking around you on small steep slopes.
This time of year is also a great opportunity to practice companion rescue skills, including transceiver searches and making sure all your gear works well. We’re off to a good start to the season but please keep in mind there are still 4-5 months of good riding ahead of us: Have fun and play safely!
- AvCan Forecasters