Spring is in full swing

Riding quality was:

OK

Snow conditions were:

• Heavy
• Wet
• Wind affected

We rode:

• Convex slopes
• Open trees
• Sunny slopes

The day was:

• Cloudy
• Sunny
• Warm

Avalanche conditions

• Rapid temperature rise to near or above 0°C or wet surface snow.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Conditions change pretty fast, if you don’t get out in to the backcountry every once in a while, you could miss it.”

Yesterday near Strathcona Park we found ~20 cm of fresh pow, signs of a building storm slab, and lots of wind moving snow around. Fast forward to today and it’s a very different story.

By the time we got up 1450 m at noon, the snow surface was already moist from warm temps (2° in the shade). Loose wet point releases were all over Cokely bowl. Avalanche problems change rapidly this time of year, and sun packs a punch. It can change from full on winter (like yesterday), to spring in a matter of minutes.

Access was smooth, you can slide on snow just past the gate at km ~8 on the Pass Main. The day was warm, sunny and cloudy. Wind was light from the NW and we did not see any wind transport occurring up high. Riding was meh, but much better than it was in January!