MacD West Shoulder Wet Loose

Submitted by
RandomPylon
Observations date
Saturday, December 30, 2023 at 21:00
Location
51.297550° N 117.485560° W
Reporting on
  • Snow conditions
Map for Mountain Information Network report: MacD West Shoulder Wet Loose

Snow conditions

Riding quality was:
OK
Snow conditions were:
  • Crusty
  • Heavy
  • Powder
  • Wet
We rode:
  • Alpine slopes
  • Dense trees
  • Mellow slopes
  • Sunny slopes
We stayed away from:
  • Convex slopes
  • Open trees

Information

The day was:
  • Sunny
  • Warm
  • Wet
Avalanche conditions
  • Rapid temperature rise to near or above 0°C or wet surface snow.

Comments

Skinned up NRC and over to Vent Shaft Slope (NOTE: pin on the map indicates location of avalanches observed). It was cold, windy and foggy in the NRC parking lot in the morning. We ascended out of the cloud layer at approx. 1600m in elevation and encountered nil to light winds for the remainder of the day. At our treeline transition point we had an air temperature of +4. The skiing was as expected - mashed potatoes on sun-exposed slopes, dodging tree bombs, and pockets of powder in sheltered areas.
Looking North towards MacDonald West Shoulder and NRC Col. Pretty boney.
Looking North towards MacDonald West Shoulder and NRC Col. Pretty boney.
View of a bold skintrack across the entire face of MacD W Shoulder, as well as numerous wet loose slides.
View of a bold skintrack across the entire face of MacD W Shoulder, as well as numerous wet loose slides.
All skintracks visible are highlighted red.
All skintracks visible are highlighted red.
Numerous wet loose slides were observed during a 20min break around 2pm.
Numerous wet loose slides were observed during a 20min break around 2pm.