Mount Field

Weather - clear in the morning Slight breeze and partially cloudy in the afternoon. As we approached the alpine, we did not see any signs of recent avalanche activity. The ridge between Wapta Mountain and Mount Field had a cornice, but it was out of the way of the uptrack. We decided to dig a pit around the last bit of trees located 2060 meters (51.43798, -116.45116). We probed 130 cm of snow here and did two column tests - both with no results. We did not observe windslab. Density tests showed low density softer snow on top of higher density snow on all depths except the bottom, where facets are easier to penetrate than the upper layers. We did not do an extended column test. We encountered wind affected snow higher on the crux headwall. We did 7 hand shear tests while climbing (2 failed over a possible wind crust, and 5 didn't). We made the decision to keep going as we were almost past the steep section. Past the headwall, the slope mellows out. We skinned up easily to the summit. There was some wind and clouds, but, for the most part, clear. The surrounding views were spectacular. The cornice did not exist east of the summit, so we dropped here. When we reached the headwall on the way down, we saw 10-11 people starting to come up. We traversed all the way skiers left to minimize the overhead hazard. The skiing was amazing, and the powder was pristine. Beautiful skiing all the way until we reached the trees in the avi path. Here, the riding quality deteriorated quickly as the snow became mostly crusty. Lower down, the skiing quality got better again as we got into more open areas.