Tough Luck Torpy

northrockiesfieldteam , Thursday 16th January, 2025 5:15PM

Last night’s storm came in mostly as rain around the Torpy area. It left behind an icy crust on the surface up to 1500m. At treeline, a few cm of snow sat over this crust and was being blown around by shifting winds. Temperatures dropped through the day reaching -8°C and the crust really stiffened up! We dug a profile at 1850 m and managed to locate the surface hoar from early January but had mixed test results (ECTX x2, CTH21 SP dn 70). There were no other layers of concern in the profile. Low visibility at higher elevations kept us from riding in the alpine so we played just below the clouds. We tried to make the most of the conditions searching for softer snow among the trees, but in the end turned to practicing sled recovery skills to pass the time.