A new report from the Public Mountain Conditions Reoprt on current conditions in 5-mile drainage at Whitewater Ski Resort:
Made a trip with some friends into 5-Mile Creek from the Whitewater ski area. We skied North-East, North and South-West aspects between 1800m and 2200m. The air temperature hovered around -6C during the day. On the North aspect I was getting moderate hand shears down about 30cm at elevations above 1900m. The bond got much stronger near 2000m and the shear wasn't very apparent above that. We felt the snow whumphing in a couple of places as well.
The main hazard was the shallow snowpack. Coverage was minimal, about 100cm, but enough. There were a number rocks that were covered by only a few centimeters of snow. We skied our lines conservatively by spreading out, avoiding convex rolls and going around big lumps in the snow (remembering the rocks). Although the snowpack was thin, the skiing was actually very good. The denser snow over the ground carried well and kept the skis off the rocks and logs. The dump expected tomorrow should help to cover the tops of the smaller trees and reduce that hazard but likely increase the avalanche hazard.
Craig Hollinger,
ACMG Assistant Ski Guide.
