Houston - Telkwa Sled Area

<p>AST 2 Course obs: Good travel day with reasonable visibilty, afternoon convective squalls. Temps to +1c in Alpine, 15cm of recent storm snow, and winds were calm throughout the day. No new avalanches observed, a few sled cut slope tests, produced no results in area tested. Hasty pits showed avg treeline depths of 220-250cm in sheltered areas. Primary layer of concern was the mid Feb crust/facet layer, which we found down 75-90cm. Midpack is a hard slab over the weaker (but strengthening) facets giving us hard, resistant shears (CTH 28 RP, ECTN). Isolated windslabs are evident in NE terrain features. Cornices are large, but we saw no recent failures </p>

Terrain Ridden

Alpine slopes, Mellow slopes, Sunny slopes, Open trees.

Terrain Avoided

Convex slopes, Steep slopes.

Avalanche Conditions

Rapid temperature rise to near zero degrees or wet surface snow.

Snow Conditions

Powder.

Weather Conditions

Warm, Cloudy.