Rockies Conditions 20-Jan-17
It snowed! Praise Ullr! We encountered 30+cms of fresh white stuff along the Divide but I’m sure more fell in other regions.
Freshies!
We got out and skied some very loaded trees on a NE aspect on the 93N as well as some glades in Little Yoho. Things on the down were fantastic provided you ski fast and don’t punch through to the facets, otherwise you may get stuck and find yourself pulling the old double eject (not speaking from experience or anything). You’d better find an old skin track for the up otherwise you’re gonna have a bad time. We did manage to set a bit of slough running in a steep open glade so there are definitely instabilities below treeline.
In other areas, there’s marginally semi decent turns to be had along the 93S if you’re into a bit of suffering and Kananaskis is just keepin on, with variable ski quality reported throughout the week.
With all this in mind, temps were hovering around freezing early this week so this fresh snow came down heavy. It’s also sitting on very unsupportive facets (I’m getting tired of typing that phrase) which means you should be wary this weekend. That SPAW might be worth reading about if you haven’t already. There’s been a couple of skier accidentals and plenty of naturals up to 2.5 reported around the Rockies. Don’t get overconfident. Stick to treeline and below (where the skiing’s good) and cautiously give’r.