Winter has Arrived

Mountain Conditions Report

<p>I went out for a romp in the Southern Valhallas today and was pleasantly impressed with the conditions.</p> <p>Above 1650m the ski quality was great for November 8; of course early season conditions existed, and there were plenty of hazards to avoid, such as open creeks, blow down, rocks etc. However the snowpack was reasonably supportive, there’s was a stiffer layer (1F-, FC/DF) down ~30-40cm, that carried skier traffic quite well. Above that was 30-40cm of blower pow (F). The snowpack was for the most part, progressively resistant; albeit an immature snowpack. Foot penetration was typically ~70cm in sheltered areas.</p> <p>Ski quality was high between 2200m and 1800m. </p> <p>The height of snow increased steadily from 15cm at 1000m to ~90cm at 1650m and between 1650-2500m varied from 90-120cm. Some exposed ridge features were scoured to ground.</p> <p>In the alpine, the recent storm snow had been redistributed by westerly winds, scouring exposed areas and loading lee features. During the morning today, a 4cm 4F- melt freeze crust developed on ESE-SE sheltered features to 2200m. </p> <p>There was minimal recent avalanche activity observed and was limited to a few size 1 sloughs in the recent storm snow in terrain over 35 degrees.</p> <p>Nice to see winter’s off to a good start in the Valhallas!</p>