Cache Couloir / Source Lake

We set out from the Source Lake TH at 5:30pm intending to ski the Cache Couloir. Heavy snowfall throughout the tour, tapering around 9:00pm. On the S aspect approach, there was 6–8" of low-density snow over a firm but bootable crust. On N aspects near the entrance to Cache Couloir, we observed ~1-1.5 feet of low-density snow over an even firmer/icier 2/7 crust. The new snow was poorly bonded to the crust. At the entrance choke of Cache Couloir, a stomp test triggered a release of the new snow interface, flushing down to the 2/7 crust and running out of sight beyond headlamp visibility. While re-ascending the N aspects back to the col, we observed shooting cracks and localized collapsing, indicating increased reactivity within the new snow/crust interface. Human-triggered storm slab activity was easy to initiate in steep, confined, and shaded terrain. We chose to turn around due to poor bonding and active cracking/collapsing, but still enjoyed great skiing on the exit. The ski descent toward Source Lake did not produce cracking or collapsing and felt notably more stable. The exit track is in good shape.

Quick report