Bow Summit

Conditions report from Bow Summit on 11/19/2023: Firstly, I'll start with a disclaimer that I am very new to this and by no means a reliable expert in reporting backcountry conditions. I would welcome any feedback, tips or corrections. Secondly, some of this info may be already obvious to much of the group or anyone paying attention to weather, but I thought I'd share it anyway for those who haven't been out. Hopefully it is of some use to some folks. There is about 45-55cm of snow at mid treeline and just above, more on NE and E aspects than others. North/Northwest aspects and higher alpine are largely windswept and still very rocky. Northeast to Southeast aspects are more filled but also fairly wind loaded in several areas above treeline. There is a weak layer of facets from around 2cm-12cm off the ground (so 38-48cm down from current depth), that seem to be the main source of instability currently. A basic compression test revealed sudden collapse at 13 taps (3 from elbow), so moderate result. The snow from 15-40cm seems to be well bonded, likely all from a single weather event as I didn’t notice any obvious weak layers in that portion of the snowpack (but I could have missed it). There were several previous slides visible in the main bowl on the steeper NE/E ridgeline slopes, most of which were size 1 or 1.5, and one that looked potentially closer to size 2. I personally did not observe any whumps or cracks, but another party saw cracks while skinning higher up on the first ridge to the North. Most of the main center bowl (alpine) is only partially filled with many visible sharks (unsurprisingly). However, at the top of treeline and below there is definitely enough snow to make "good" turns. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and depth of the snow (expectations were very low) and had several fun laps in/around the gully to the Southeast of the main bowl area (after the second ridge). For those looking for more advanced lines and deeper snow, it is best to wait, but I am easy to please and as such, was satisfied.