Tail of two winters

LuJo , Monday 17th February, 2025 3:15PM

Stayed in the backcountry for four days. The first three days (Friday to Saturday) offered superb riding in cold, dry and powdery snow at 1300m elevation and above. North faces were holding the best snow and we got about 5cm of fresh snow over Saturday and Sunday. Today started off very cold (ski boot buckles were frozen) with blue skies but solar impact to the snow became very evident once the sun emerged. The previously dry powder became noticeable heavier, we saw pin wheels, snow was falling off the trees and point releases could be seen in rocky steep terrain. We got glopping on skis and skins close to Callaghan lake. We did not see any avalanche activity, but were out of the backcountry before noon and skied on east facing slopes on Hidden peak. Given the extreme solar impact we decided to not ski an alpine bowl below Hidden peak but stayed within trees and more manageable terrain.