Windy, Warm, Wet (surface)

southrockies , Wednesday 4th December, 2024 5:15PM

Crowsnest Pass today … staged at Atlas and rode up to Window Mountain Bowl. The trail in has great coverage and not many alders on the route into the bowl.    We got on our skis and toured up the SE ridge of the bowl to 2200 m. Snowpack depths at tree line are around 50 cm with wind-loaded areas up to 80 cm deep. We found a consistent snowpack from top to bottom, settling well with the warm temperatures.   There is a facet layer at the base of the snowpack that is moist and rounding. Not the typical early season facet layer found this area, which is normally drier, weaker, and sugary.    The temperatures hit +5°C so the upper snow was becoming heavy and sticking to our skis and skins. We observed a size 1 loose wet from extreme terrain mid-day. The wind slabs seem to have settled out and were not a problem in this area.