Bluebird pow day...uhhh YES PLEASE

Today, it felt like winter had returned to the Crowsnest Pass. The morning temperature at the Atlas staging area was -11°C, with 15 cm of new snow in the parking lot. The day warmed up quickly, and throughout the day, the only avalanche activity we observed was a few loose wet avalanches in steep, solar areas. We dug a pit at 2300 m in the alpine on a south-facing slope. The snowpack consisted of 15 cm of soft storm snow on top of a 35 cm hard melt-freeze crust. Below the crust, we found a consolidated layer of facets (the January Drought layer) extending down to the ground. The crust was supportive to both skiers and snowmobilers. The weather was pretty much bluebird all day long, with strong solar effect, warming things up quickly in the afternoon. The morning was calm, with light winds from the northeast developing in the afternoon. The skiing and sledding conditions were excellent. For those of us not ready for winter to end (us!), it was a perfect winter-y refresh before this weekend’s warm-up. The CrowSnow Riders have done a great job of maintaining the trails. There is excellent coverage right from the staging area.