Searching High and Low

<p>We spent the last few days out riding in Kakwa Provincial Park. On our way in we noted large feathery crystals (surface hoar) along the Walker FSR as far as McGregor Pass but not in the Kakwa riding area. On Saturday we took advantage of low hazard and good visibility to ride larger slopes high in the alpine in the Babette and Mt Ruth areas. There was an array of hard surfaces from the long dry period and we had to look hard to find softer snow on sheltered slopes. We saw signs of large avalanches in steep, rocky terrain from last weekend’s warm up but no recent activity. Late in the day a storm rolled in and poor visibility pushed us down to the trees. The storm was still slowly improving the riding on Sunday. The hazard was increasing the new snow falling on a hard bed surface and winds forming slabs on northeasterly faces at higher elevations. We changed tactics and searched for lower consequence features in the rolling tree line terrain below Wallbridge Mountain. We watched for shooting cracks and used sled cuts on small steep features to keep an eye on how the hazard changed throughout the storm. We finished the day searching out the deepest snow in small meadows and dense trees below La Glace. In total the storm dropped about 20cm and refreshed the riding nicely. The visibility returned today and we kept a eye out for signs of avalanche activity after the storm. We saw signs of loose dry avalanches in steep rocky terrain and a few small wind slabs in loaded alpine pockets. The ride out was cold and long but very worth it! We can’t wait to go back!</p>

Terrain Ridden

Alpine slopes, Convex slopes, Dense trees, Mellow slopes, Open trees, Steep slopes.

Snow Conditions

Hard, Powder, Wind affected.

Weather Conditions

Stormy, Windy.