Sea to Sky Gondola Opening Day - Detailed Report

nick.nelson904 , Friday 29th November, 2024 1:15PM

Good coverage for opening day in the Sky Pilot area. Below treeline, pole tests resulted in 20-30 cm of sugary snow on a supportive 1.5 in rain crust, stiff snow below. The unsupportive sugary snow made it difficult to ascend the skin track beside Home Run, heinous as always. At treeline, 30-40 cm of sugary snow and rain crust was thinning to a about 3 cm. In the Alpine, HS195 no rain crust but similar top layer above a thick layer of stiff snow. Another party ascended Gun Sight to the first bottleneck and discovered a problematic wind slab. Great riding following the skin track all the way back to Home Run. We skied Home Run, dodging the creek and some stumps. We heard the Exit Couloir was tricky up top but nice skiing to the bottom. HS195, 35 degree NE slope @1680m. 50 m right of Gun Sight 15m below cliff band. CTH24 SP down 45cm on FC, column did not slide on its own but slid easily after pulling on it ECTX - maybe a faint pop on hit 23 down 45cm but no fractures, shear failure @45cm across whole ECT column with a light pull on the back with a shovel. failed on same layer as CT.

HS195, 35 degree NE slope @1680m. 50 m right of Gun Sight 15m below cliff band. CTH24 SP down 45cm on FC, column did not slide on its own but slid easily after pulling on it ECTX - maybe a faint pop on hit 23 down 45cm but no fractures, shear failure @45cm across whole ECT column with a light pull on the back with a shovel. failed on same layer as CT.

Weather observations from 1680m at 2pm. Clouds were between broken and overcast all day. Moderate visibility with flat light and fog rolling in and out above 1500m. Poor visibility from fog looking into Gunsight.