Sask Glacier/ Castleguard Meadows

Quick report

Weather

windy

Riding Quality

terrible

Snow Conditions

windAffected

Avalanche Conditions

avalancheConditionSnow, avalancheConditionSlab, avalancheConditionTemp

Feb. 3-7 spent in the Castleguard Meadows area, accessed via the Saskatchewan Glacier. Unsurprisingly, generally awful skiing conditions were found at treeline and above. Travel was fast and easy despite whiteouts and storms. Strong to extreme SW winds rapidly redistributed 15-20 cm of new snow, leaving old, hard windslabs and exposed ground/ ice. HS on the lower Saskatchewan Glacier was extremely variable, but averaged around 70 cm - some thinly bridged crevasses were found. On the way out Feb. 7, several avalanches were noted: -Size 1.5+ directly observed in extreme terrain on the north face of Big Bend peak (Silver Lining ice climb), running to valley bottom. Suspected cornice collapse. -Size 2 windslab on a treeline fan on the north face of Big Bend peak ~24-48 hours old, running mid-path. 20cm deep x 150m wide. -Size 2+ on the slope below the Big Bend couloir, the first path after the old road, 24-48 hours old. Debris ran full path into mature trees, covering the normal Sask glacier trail. New snow made depth and avalanche type difficult to determine.