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North Coast
Today we rode at Sinclair. Cool temps overnight have dried the snow out and made for excellent riding conditions above 1600m. By mid day sunny aspects were becoming moist. Northern aspects were still holding cold dry snow. We dug on a north aspect at 1850m and found the March 31st interface down 40cm. We were able to produce moderate to hard results during compression tests and non propagating results in extend column tests. We observed one size 1 windslab avalanche.
Today we skied at Ashman. Excellent ski quality exists on Northern aspects. During testing on a northwest aspect at 1600 m we were able to produce hard results during a compression tests down 50 cm on the March 31 melt freeze crust layer. Wind slab has formed in lee terrain features at ridge line and remains trigger-able. We observed one size 2 windslab avalanche.
Today we enjoyed winter-like conditions in the north bowls of Ashman! There is 10 - 15 cm of cold, dry snow over a firm older surface on shady slopes, to as low as 1200m. We saw very little wind affect at the surface. Sunny slopes are a little dust-on-crusty, but generally supportive to skiing. Overall, great skiing! We did see one large natural cornice fall on an east facing slope in the alpine. It did not trigger a slab on the slope below. The cornices at Ashman are large and looming so we stayed well back from them on ridgelines.
Today we rode at the Microwave. There was 2 cm of snow overnight that did not improve the riding quality. This area is quite tracked out and the recent warm temps have made a hard crust at all elevations that is making for difficult riding conditions. There is extensive wind effect in the alpine and at ridgline some areas have been stripped to ground by recent winds and exposure to the sun. We observed no new avalanches.
Today we rode at the Microwave. Riding conditions are firm with north aspects still holding cold dry snow. South aspects were especially firm and made for difficult riding conditions. Cornices are massive in this area and we would avoid runout zones if the temperature rises rapidly or the sun is out for very long.
We found strong winds from the SW. A hand shear on NE aspect at 1500m yielded a planar result on a crust/sz 1 surface hoar interface down 45cm. Multiple natural WS sz 1-2 on N aspect with rocky start zones 24h-48h old. Riding quality was best at treeline and below.
Skiing quality on north aspects was great in protected areas. Surface hoar crystals made for easy trail breaking and great turns. South aspects were sun affected with a breakable crust.
Today we rode at Sinclair. Cold temps have preserved the recent snow and riding below tree line was very deep with 50 cm plus of cold dry storm snow from the last few days. At tree line and above strong winds have made hard wind slab on all aspects making for very difficult riding conditions. We observed multiple size 1 - 1.5 slab avalanches on N-NE aspects in the alpine. There has been extensive cornice growth recently and we gave a wide berth to slopes exposed to overhanging cornices. Windslab avalanches were our main concern, however the threat of large cornices failing, and triggering larger avalanches in steep rocky facetted terrain remains.
Today we rode at the Microwave. The strong outflow winds over the previous days have made hard wind slab at treeline and above, making for difficult riding conditions. Sheltered areas at treeline still hold some non wind affected snow that made for fun riding. We observed cracking in the windslab while riding that prompted us to stay away from larger terrain features that have been scoured by the wind. We observed no new avalanches.
Today we Skied at Ashman. 10-15 cm of new low density snow sits atop 30-40 cm of buried windslab at treeline and above. We did multiple informal tests to gauge the reactivity of the buried windslab (hand shear, ski cutting representative slopes, digging) before we dropped into the north side of the ridge. You could still fell windslab the first few turns off the ridge but the snow quickly became soft and made for excellent ski quality to valley bottom. We chose supported lines and stayed away from convexities. we observed no new avalanches.
Today we skied at Ashman ridge. We found 30cm of delightful low density snow above the Jan 25 rain crust. This crust was supportive in the terrain we skied today and made for good fast skiing. We entered the avalanche terrain carefully to asses how well the new storm snow was bonding to the rain crust. Where we skied, there was no slab properties in the new snow and it seemed to be bonding well to the old crust. However, this was only in the terrain we skied today and careful assessment should be made when stepping into new terrain. With continued snowfall and wind the hazard could increase.
Today we rode at Sinclair. there was 20cm's of fresh snow at tree line and in the alpine. There was light winds with this past storm and no sign of slab formation at any elevation. During compression test's we were not able to produce any significant results. We located the Dec 23rd facet/surface hoar layer down 70cm. There was small facets on the Dec 23rd layer that appeared to be rounding.
Today we skied at Ashman ridge. We dug on the north side of the ridge and observed propagating results in an extended column test on facets down 40cm We observed one size 2 avalanche greater that 72 hours old out of steep terrain in the alpine on a north west aspect.
Today we skied at Ashman Ridge. On our walk up to the ridge at 1400m on a south aspect we found a glide avalanche (the entire depth of the snow pack). We think this happened over a week ago. See attached photos. We skied North off the ridge and found hard wind affected snow near ridge top. Ski quality quickly improved during the descent and became powder snow. We saw no other avalanches or signs of instability. It was party cloudy today with moderate to strong NW winds at ridgetop, that were blowing snow. We found sheltered conditions in the trees!
Probing showed 30cm in the alpine with wind deposits in the 80-120cm range. Facets which have bonded throughout the snowpack. Hoar in the sheltered areas up to treeline. Good skiing seemed to be wind transported hoar turned facets up to 10cm deep on eastern section of right. Old gliding cracks were observed.
A quick excursion out to Ashman ridge. At 1350m HS was 94cm. Hand shears detected a weak surface hoar layer down 41cm. Ski cuts on steep convex micro features produced some cracking with propagation less than 1.5m