Cirque Forepeak

Riding quality was:

Good

Snow conditions were:

• Powder
• Wind affected

We rode:

• Alpine slopes
• Mellow slopes
• Open trees

We stayed away from:

• Convex slopes
• Steep slopes

The day was:

• Sunny
• Warm

Avalanche conditions

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

Toured up Cirque Forepeak south rib to beneath alpine bench. BTL travel still miserable outside of skin track, but increasingly supportive moving up into TL/Alpine.

Signs of cross-loading and wind slab in alpine lee features, with poor coverage in windward zones. Low-angle terrain provided turns in light, sugary, snow.

Inversion noticed during travel with alpine air temperature at 2500m rising to +0.5 in the afternoon with clear skies. Low westerly wind.

Dug multiple pits ~2-3m apart with conflicting results on both Dec 17 and Nov 17 layers, highlighting variability in local terrain.

W aspect @ 2450m. ~12:00pm. Slope angle ~25-30 degrees. HS 120-125. 4 discernible layers:

0-10cm: F surface snow

10-30cm: 1F wind slab (Dec 17th at bottom)

31-80cm: 4F slab (Nov 17th at bottom)

80-120cm: F basal facets

Pit 1 saw CTM14 SC down 30cm on Dec 17. CTH29 SC down 80cm on Nov 17. ECTN15 down 30cm on Dec 18.

Pit 2 saw CTH22 SC down 75cm on Nov 17. ECTP22 down 75cm on Nov 17.