Tiaya Peak in the sun

Not powder skiing but a great day for more technical objectives. We chatted with the guides at Yukon Heliskiing in the morning; their main avalanche concern was stubborn windslabs over facets lurking in smaller, steep, and unsupported terrain features. From Fraser, we sledded to the Tiaya N col (aka "the Notch") and then skinned up onto the N glacier. From the Tiaya W sub-peak we skied a couloir to the south, then ascended to the S shoulder and skied the steep, glaciated W face from just below the peak down to Crater lake before climbing back up to the sled. We found a variety of widespread previously wind effect surfaces over facets about 40cm down. Old hard slabs and strastugi were beginning to facet in isolated, sheltered terrain on all aspects. We found the best skiing in features with a "dappled" snow texture, otherwise wind-pressed and wind-loaded surfaces were firm and supportive (sharpen your edges); in fact the greatest hazard was that self arresting would have been challenging in the event of a fall. A light north wind kept things cool and we did not find any moist snow above tree-line despite the clear skies and intense sun. Snow depth ranged from 200cm to 250cm on the glaciers and crevasses were mainly well bridged with few obvious sags.