Smutwood Saddle

Skied up the Commonwealth valley to the Smutwood saddle. Temp was -10 when we left the truck and rose to 0 by early afternoon. Travel was fast and easy on hard wind and sun affected snow. We dug a pit on the slope heading up to the saddle. The snow was exceptionally hard. Total depth to ground was ~185cm, ~140cm of that was very hard thick crust sitting on top of a sugar base. Column test failed on shoulder hit 14, on a weak layer ~60cm down. No signs of weakness in the snowpack as we travelled. As expected, the saddle was completely wind blown and the snow quality was brutal. Ski-Crampons and boot packing were required to get up. Got a few turns in on our way back down - rough skiing as expected but a beautiful day out nonetheless!

We observed a fairly recent slab avalanche on Smutwood from across the valley. The slide was located in the bowl to the north of the cliffs. SE facing aspect. Sun exposed and wind loaded. Also observed some recent slide activity in the Commonwealth bowl across the valley from Smuts. North facing aspect. Slide path looked to run in a chute on looker’s left from ridge top most of the way down.