Ski Tour

Skied the Dolomite Peak Circuit today (Tuesday, November 22) from the Helen Lake parking lot to Mosquito Creek. Snowpack at the road was very shallow (15cm), and rocky sections of the Mosquito Creek trail were best walked at times. Snowpack depth increased quickly with elevation, with 50cm at treeline and 80+cm at 2500m. It's certainly still November - helmets and speed moderation were utilized.

That said, there is now a consolidated base giving surprisingly reasonable travel for the snowpack depth. 15-20cm of unconsolidated powder makes for nice skiing, but hides rocks. This overlies a supportive crust below treeline (but into the alpine on solar aspects), that vanishes by 2400m on shady slopes. No recent avalanches or signs of instability were observed; although isolated pockets of soft windslab could be felt in exposed alpine areas.

Light winds today and moderate - cool temps.

Ruari MacFarlane

Aaron Beardmore