Sunny with a chance of Cornices

Riding quality was:

Amazing

Snow conditions were:

• Heavy
• Powder

We rode:

• Steep slopes
• Sunny slopes

The day was:

• Warm

Our group completed a triple crown today around the Joffre area. The area was quite busy with a mix of snowshoers and skiers in the area.

The weather was bluebird, with no wind.

We reached the top of Aussie Couloir @10:30am. Approx 2-3cm of crust overlaid consolidated snow. Intense warming was evident, and the snow was very heavy at the top. While transitioning, another party had a very close call with a massive cornice when it unexpectedly dropped, with their party member just half a meter away. Quite the experience, but a kind lesson to all of us involved to not inch even a bit past the last signs of rocks.

We then skied the NW Matier face, which held consolidated powder which resulted in some great turns.

Overhanging the skin track to Slalok were a set of cornices, which we passed through as quickly as possible. We were rewarded with the best turns of the day on Slalok.

Other than loose dry, loose wet, and the cornice drop, we did not encounter other signs of instability.