Superb spring sayonara

Quick report

Weather

sunny

Ride Type

alpineSlopes, convexSlopes, cutBlocks, denseTrees, mellowSlopes, openTrees, steepSlopes, sunnySlopes

Riding Quality

amazing

Snow Conditions

powder, windAffected

Avalanche Conditions

avalancheConditionSnow

It felt like we timed it perfectly at Cokely today. With over 30 cm of storm snow falling on Tuesday, we wanted to give it some time to settle before we hit the deep stuff. Good coverage existed past the gate for the road on our way up; however, once you get into the snowmobile track to the top, you are very aware that it is a thin dusting of new snow on top of bare rock and open creeks. Travel slowly and carefully. We jumped on our skis at the top of the old ski hill for a quick jaunt to the top. The wind slabs that formed during the storm were easily found, but unreactive. As the day warmed up and the sun shone, the snow was transforming quickly. On Arrowsmith we could see evidence of a couple wind slab avalanches that looked to have occurred during the storm and a small amount of loose wet activity that was just beginning out of the steep rocky cliffs. The ski line down was smooth and buttery, unless you pushed too hard into your turns; then the impenetrable crust below made its presence known. By the trip down on the sleds, the creeks were reopened and much of the road was bare. Access may be challenging for a little while with deep snow in the shady corners and lots of bare gravel in the sunny spots.