State of the Backcountry - What you should know.
We are all aware that the 2013/2014 ski season has not had the best of starts with snow packs hovering around the 200cm mark in the Kootenays. Most other regions of BC are no better off with little snowfall over the past two weeks and a less than stellar December to kick things off followed by a below average January. Week one of February has come to a close and things are no different. The word to best describe the Kootenay backcountry at this time is surely "variable".
What little powder snow there was still on the ground seemed to have been blown to the coast by those North Easterly winds from last week. This leaves us with wind blown hard pack, scoured aspects, depth hoar and pockets of powder and instability.
(click for larger view)
After a recent day tour around Whitewater Ski Resort I can confirm that things are indeed not typical for this time of year. A group of us skied the North face of the Silver King side at Whitewater into 5 Mile on a route known as Acidophilus, from here we traversed across the burn to the South face of Larch Peak. After climbing up to the ridge on very sketchy conditions with bullet proof snow and the top 6cm slab constantly breaking away we decided to retreat the way we came. Wrapping around the West face of the burn back into 5 Mile we were hoping to find some relatively good snow on the South West faces but were disappointed yet again. The windblown hard pack and multi-layer slabs were still present and the skiing proved to be variable (theres that word again) with pockets of powder that seemed to enjoy fooling you into thinking the snow was skiable only to have your skis randomly grabbed with generous amounts of gravity being applied to your body in a most unwelcoming manner.
For all the details of the route, including elevations, times and a map check out our Suunto Moves Count page here.
Overall, East faces, wind scoured. North faces, likely still your best bet for any real turns. South faces, boiler plate with easily triggered wind slabs. West faces, variable with wind pockets of slab, powder and plenty of depth hoar.
Not an inspiring report of things in the area but the good news is that significant snow is coming with reports of up to 30 – 40cm in total over the beginning of this week. While this will make skiing enjoyable once again it will also bury the concerns that are currently evident. Lets all enjoy the return of winter but at the same time keep our enthusiasm in check in the backcountry and be aware of the dragons that lurk within the snow pack.
Let us know how conditions are where you have been skiing this holiday long weekend.
