Soft surfaces return to White Pass!

<p>Clear sky, sun and no wind made us optimistic for some softening snow surfaces today. The morning started cold at Tiny Town with another deep freeze at -13. By noon however temperatures were approaching a more seasonal -2. We worked our way up a south facing aspect with help from ski crampons at first. Around 1400m we found pockets of 30cm deep wind-blown new snow which was bonding well to the old decomposing crusts beneath. We toured all aspects of an alpine bowl and gave a wide berth to a large cornice that was overhanging north facing slopes. Since our only exit involved travelling on solar aspects this was the first day we had to remain aware of timing to safely ski back to the valley floor before it got too warm. We choose to ski a run from the ridge that began on a north facing slope and ended on a southerly aspect. The riding quality on shady aspects was good with new snow on top of faceting old hard surfaces. When we turned to solar aspects we caught the beginning of a corn cycle at around 1pm, but there was no danger of loose wet avalanches at this time. With similar temperatures to yesterday, the lack of wind contributed to warming surfaces and much improved skiing. Spring is nearly with us.... </p>

Terrain Ridden

Alpine slopes, Sunny slopes.

Terrain Avoided

Convex slopes.

Avalanche Conditions

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

Snow Conditions

Powder.

Weather Conditions

Sunny, Warm.