Retallack area

axcooper , Monday 27th January, 2025 9:15AM

We spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday ski touring in the Retallack area. Friday, we skied some nice east-facing trees. We had a noon start and it was very warm in the sun, but cooled down quite a bit in the shade. Ski quality on east facing slopes was fantastic, but we found crusts on any slope that had been exposed to the sun. Slight changes in aspect in the same clearing would make the difference between crust and powder. Saturday, we went a little higher and skied a steep north facing slope in deep powder. The only concern was sluff. East-facing trees were great. Sunday, we skied a big, east-facing slide path. The snow was more wind-effected in this area but still pretty good where it was untracked. Another group had skied this area before us and the surface was quite hard where it had been skied out. We exited to the highway through some cutblocks that were a mix wind slab and settled snow. Of note, there was widespread surface hoar in all sheltered areas on Sunday. All in all, it was a great weekend with much better skiing than expected given the lack of snow lately. The cold temps have helped keep the powder soft on north through east aspects.