Farming the Froth

Submitted by
northrockiesfieldteam
Observations date
Wednesday, December 24, 2025
Location
54.054640° N 121.263070° W
Reporting on
  • Snow conditions
Map for Mountain Information Network report: Farming the Froth

Snow conditions

Riding quality was:
Amazing
Snow conditions were:
  • Deep powder
  • Wind affected
We rode:
  • Alpine slopes
  • Dense trees
  • Mellow slopes
  • Open trees
  • Steep slopes
We stayed away from:
  • Convex slopes
  • Steep slopes

Information

The day was:
  • Cloudy
  • Cold
  • Warm
  • Windy

Comments

There was an inversion again today, so while it was -18 C at the truck, the ridge was a balmy -8 C! The day started with low cloud sitting on the alpine which gradually cleared to a mix of sun and cloud. We mostly stuck to the good riding at treeline, but ventured a bit into the alpine at bit in the afternoon.

The 5 cm of new snow from last night wasn't enough to cover all the recent tracks in all the popular spots, but if you knew where to look there was some epic pockets of deep snow. The alpine was pretty wind affected with windward slopes scoured back to a hard, old surface or lee slopes buried in 40 - 60 cm of soft wind slab.

Overall, it was another great day of riding and looking at snow!

Wind slabs are soft and deep in some places. We didn't see much for signs of instability like shooting cracks, but talking to others they are mostly seeing them in the alpinbe right below ridgeline.
Wind slabs are soft and deep in some places. We didn't see much for signs of instability like shooting cracks, but talking to others they are mostly seeing them in the alpinbe right below ridgeline.
There is great riding at treeline anywhere you can get away from the old tracks and wind!
There is great riding at treeline anywhere you can get away from the old tracks and wind!
Snow depth varies, but is around 220 cm with 30 - 60 cm of soft snow sitting over the Mid-December crust.
Snow depth varies, but is around 220 cm with 30 - 60 cm of soft snow sitting over the Mid-December crust.
Someone drove a tractor out to 30 km to rescue some trucks that were buried on the unplowed road. It's a bit bumpy, but it feels a lot like old grooming. We parked at 18 km where the current plowing seems to end.
Someone drove a tractor out to 30 km to rescue some trucks that were buried on the unplowed road. It's a bit bumpy, but it feels a lot like old grooming. We parked at 18 km where the current plowing seems to end.