Multiple naturals in Chickadee Valley

Quick report

JBski · Feb 8, 2023 · Lake Louise

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Quick report

Weather
sunny, warm, windy
Ride Type
mellowSlopes
Stayed Away
alpineSlopes, convexSlopes, steepSlopes
Riding Quality
OK
Snow Conditions
powder
Avalanche Conditions
avalancheConditionSlab

From valley bottom, we saw evidence of multiple natural releases estimated to be in the the 1 to 2.5 size range. There were strong alpine winds and some punch to the sun in the valley, so not surprising that most were from S facing slopes. Just before noon we saw the powder cloud from the largest release that ran almost full path on the sub-peak between Boom and Chickadee. The adjacent path also ran, likely at the same time. We turned around at the head of the valley where HS was about 120 cm with lots of facets below the midpack layers and soft snow on top. On the way out, we saw new slides on S facing slopes of Boom Mtn and a likely new fracture line on a N facing slope near the E end of Whymper. More info in the captions...

6 photos