Kings of the Castlecrag

Beautiful day to be in Strathcona Provincial Park today on our tour in the Castlecrag area. We found a shocking variety of surface conditions out there. Coverage over the thick late January crust ranged from 5 to 30 cm in most areas, with some crusty tree drippings in the forest and wind-exposed crust in the alpine. In the sun, snow was moist and even isothermal near rocks. A few metres away in the shade, faceted snow would make for slippery skin track steps. A bit of everything! At ridgetop, we found small chunks of wind slab would break away from our skis, but the cracks weren't really propagating. Solar slopes were probably warm enough by our 2 PM departure that a wet loose problem was emerging. For those considering similar access, we drove to 49.65533, -125.30938, the last pitch with chains on. As always, expect very rugged travel, follow access guidelines, and use your radio. For access via Paradise Meadows, there appears to be sufficient snow for straightforward travel to Cruickshank Canyon and beyond.