Back in the Rockies

Riding quality was:

OK

Snow conditions were:

• Crusty
• Powder

We rode:

• Alpine slopes
• Convex slopes
• Dense trees
• Steep slopes
• Sunny slopes

We stayed away from:

• Alpine slopes

The day was:

• Sunny
• Warm

Laid off from the bounty of BC and back in the homeland of the Rockies, things felt very spring-like today. The lads and I completed the Commonwealth circuit today hot on the heels of some K-Country boys. SCT skies, little to no wind, 10-15 cm ski pen, SH and preserved stellars (5-6mm) on surface. Evidence of slightly older widespread Na LD and LW to size 1.5 in extreme terrain, all aspects. Lots of obvious wind effect in ALP and exposed TL. We sought steep and polar, and skied two hot-laps off NW shoulder of Pigsback on way out. We stopped to dig just above a steep line at TL in some treed gullies.

TP: NW aspect, 2150 m. 35° slope. Pit depth 110. Impressive HS: 250-300, obviously very wind-loaded feature here.

Snowpack: 10-15 cm low density and surface faceting grains overlies a 5 cm P old windsl (also softening with near-sfc faceting). 1F dn to 45 cm, then P, P+ below. Very dense and well settled mid-pack and below.

-CTE4 (BKN) dn 15 on facets on old windsl (x2).

-CTH24/27 (RP/BKN) dn 75 on hidden interface....old SH? Couldn't see any or determine what date this was, and hard to ascertain given the wind-loaded locale. Still felt good enough to ski the line.

No cracking, whumpfing, or other signs of instability today. Two fresher-looking Na sluffs to large sz 1.0 out of Commonwealth/Pigstail col noted.

We are starting to transition to a spring snowpack, but we are not there yet.

To all my ski-touring homies, get out there and collect some obs for the people!

Everyone play safe and make good choices.