Chester Lake Snow Observation Transect

Riding quality was:

OK

Snow conditions were:

• Crusty
• Powder
• Wind affected

We rode:

• Alpine slopes
• Dense trees
• Mellow slopes

We stayed away from:

• Convex slopes
• Steep slopes

The day was:

• Cloudy

Avalanche conditions

• Slab avalanches today or yesterday.

Had an inauspicious start to the day. Sometime during the bleary eyed 6am transfer of gear to the carpool my ski boots remained behind the driver seat of my car. Not wanting to spend the day in the Chester Lake parking lot I decided to do a snow observation transect into Chester Lake, between elevations 1900m and 2300m. I did multiple hasty pits (4) on the hike in, and two study pits, one in Galatea Meadows on a 20 degree slope, and the other on the moraine at the end of Chester Lake, on a 30 degree slope. In both study pits I did both extended column compression tests across slope, and extended column propagation tests along the fall line.

In my 30 years of climbing and skiing in the Rockies I have never experienced an early season snow pack like the one I observed today. The best phrase I can find to describe what I observed is "a total reset". At treeline, I found none of the growing dry facets and stiff wind slabs that are normal for this time of year.

***IMPORTANT WARNING*** do not try to cross Chester Lake, the surface is currently saturated, and not supportive.