Snowy day at Surprise Pass

Mild temperatures and steady ~1 cm per hour snowfall all morning that was still falling as we left Lake Louise at around 1330. We were surprised to have calm-light winds at Surprise Pass this morning with the new snow falling straight down at times. Little wind effect or slab property noted in HN. No cracking or hand shear failures found in the new snow. Limited alpine obs due to poor visibility. Generally 10-20cm of fist snow on top of a supportive crust up to the pass (2500m) on solar aspects, and ~2300m on North aspects. At the top of the run, the HN was sluffing on a crust below, but we didn't stop to investigate if this is the Nov13 rain crust or just old windpressed snow. Debris from a natural sz 1 loose dry avalanche noted in N alpine. Treeline HS around Saddleback pass up to ~80cm, 10-15cm on a supportive crust, the larch glades there look fun for some mellow turns. The skintrack up the summer trail from lake louise is in good conditon. On the NW facing run of Surprise pass we found good skiing, 10-20cm on crust makes for enjoyable turns. A healthy shark population and poor visibility made for a cautious descent, expect to hit rocks if you come this way.