Tandem Turns

Riding into Clemina, we had several key questions in mind: * How well was the recent storm snow bonding to the December 16 crust? * Was surface hoar still present in the snowpack? * How deep was the new powder? Up to 30 cm of recent storm snow appeared to be bonding well to the December 16th crust. This crust formed during the recent warm spell and extends to at least 2100 m. We dug multiple snow profiles to search for the persistent weak layers discussed in the forecast like surface hoar and crust/facet combos. In Clemina, the surface hoar layer is spotty in a "here, not there" kind of way in our profiles. We mostly found it on northerly facing slopes where it appeared to be decomposing. The November crusts, however, were easy to identify everywhere we went, but we got a result on that layer in just one of five of our profiles. We found the best riding in sheltered, Treeline features where 30cm of fresh powder was not touched by the wind. Higher up and in more exposed terrain, snow quality declined and avalanche potential increased.