West Nile

satu.kouri , Sunday 1st December, 2024 7:15AM

We skied two laps in the West Nile area, with decent turns in the runout zone. There were many rocks lurking right beneath the surface, but being deliberate on where you turn allows one to avoid most of them. We stayed clear of the headwall, which was frequently sluffing throughout the day (mostly sz 1, 2x sz 2 LD); the avi debris on the fans would have made for poor skiing anyway with an unnecessary increase in risk. Only consider West Nile if you are ready for some intense bushwacking and survival skiing on your way down. Weak and faceted HS ranged between 30-50cm BTL; 30cm on the TL ridge and 60cm in the TL runout zone. River could be crossed without getting skis wet. Intense wind transport on ridge crests throughout the day (westerly flow), with lower level winds increasing to moderate in the afternoon.