Tablelands tromp and truck tour.

With consistent snow and wind over the last week, we headed out to the Tablelands to get a sense of snow coverage and wind loading. We brought skis just in case, but there isn't a good base over the rocks. There was enough snow to skin in, but any descending would have been treacherous and we couldn't see much in the storm, so our outdoor observations were limited to a quick hike in our boots. On the edge of steep gully walls we found deep, wind drifted snow that cracked around our boots and fell off in chunks. In these small features with lots of ground roughness still showing there was little danger to us, but if we had ventured up to a larger, steeper slope like Trout River Bowl, we expect that it would be more filled in and a large avalanche would be possible.

Variable snow depth due to wind transport, but coverage at low elevations is relatively consistent, not many places were scoured to ground. Probably not the same story on the tops of the hills. Generally cold temperatures and low density snow mean that with no skis on we quickly sunk to above our knees in any deep drifts. It was close to 0 °C at the road today, so the new snow is a bit denser and easier to pack into a snowball, and the other recent snow is settling quickly, and the snowpack should be well stuck together after the storm settles down.