Whitewater Backcountry, 5 Miles Creek

Quick report

Weather

sunny

Ride Type

openTrees, steepSlopes

Stayed Away

convexSlopes

Riding Quality

good

Snow Conditions

powder, windAffected, crusty

We skied in the upper Five Miles drainage yesterday. It was sunny and warm with mountain top temperature reaching 4C. Winds were light from the Southwest and kept snow surfaces cool at ridge top. True north facing terrain is still holding dry snow all they way to 1800m. Southerly aspects were all affected by the solar radiation to various levels. We observed no signs of instability in areas skied. We saw no new slab avalanches but many new Loose Wet avalanches to sz 2 out of steep rocky terrain. A test profile at 1800m on a sheltered north aspect showed no results on the early January layer. This layer was easily detectible and was located down 105 cm and displayed decomposing surface hoar laying horizontally to 7mm in size. Great views and decent skiing on protected north aspects.