Wapta Trip, College of the Rockies Golden Campus, Backcountry Travel 2 (March 29-April 2)

Quick report

Weather

warm, windy, cold, sunny, cloudy, stormy

Ride Type

convexSlopes, steepSlopes, alpineSlopes, mellowSlopes

Riding Quality

good

Snow Conditions

windAffected, powder

Weather

High of -5°C, low of -17°C, mod winds from the SW (March 29), switch from NW on March 30, light winds on remainder of trip. Trace of new snow. Pleasant weather for the trip.

Snowpack

Depth

350

Obs Type

summary

Site Aspect

E

Test Fracture

resistant

Site Elevation

2700

Test Initiation

moderate

Test Failure Depth

25

Site Elevation Band

alp

Surface Conditions

newSnow

Test Failure Layer Crystal Types

stormSnow

260-480 HS on the Icefield. 20cm F, progressive snowpack, turns to pencil in a meter. Overall very good coverage.

Avalanche

Trigger Type

natural

Wind Exposure

leeSlope

Avalanche Size

2

Start Zone Aspect

N

Vegetation Cover

openSlope

Avalanche Character

corniceWithSlab

Number Of Avalanches

1

Avalanche Observation

moreThan48hrsAgo

Start Zone Elevation Band

alp

Avalanche Occurrence Datetime

2026-03-29T21:10:00.000Z

This Na originated from class 5 terrain and ran onto the moraine below, no pictures due to low visibility.