Wheaton Valley - Mount Anderson

Riding quality was:

OK

Snow conditions were:

• Powder
• Wind affected

We rode:

• Mellow slopes

We stayed away from:

• Convex slopes
• Steep slopes

The day was:

• Cloudy
• Windy

Avalanche conditions

• Whumpfing or drum-like sounds or shooting cracks.

Toured up to 4700 ft/1433 m treeline terrain, south-east of Mount Anderson in the Wheaton Valley.

Below treeline, the snow was not wind affected, slightly settled but not slabby. There also wasn't enough snow for us to feel confident skiing in the trees (HS less than 50 cm (snowpack depth)).

At treeline, things quickly changed with variable wind affected snow encountered - we encountered stiff windslab and soft windslab, the latter was cracking and propagating approximately a few meters from us. One whumpf encountered at treeline.

Most of the snowpack at treeline appeared to consist of loose, sugary snow (aka facets) and our dog was having a tough time following us because he was punching through so far!

At treeline, shrubbery wasn't quite covered.

Only observed alpine slopes but they definitely appeared to be shallow in some areas and wind loaded in other areas.