Cirque Peak by Helen Creek

Quick report

Weather

windy

Ride Type

alpineSlopes, steepSlopes

Riding Quality

good

Snow Conditions

windAffected, powder

Avalanche Conditions

avalancheConditionSlab

We skied the Cirque Peak North Couloir from Helen Creek yesterday. Same as the day before, the snow was nice and soft up to about the top of the "Katherine Ridge" (~2400m). Unlike the previous day, we got better views of some east aspects, and saw two big avalanches (size 2.5 or 3) off of Crystal Ridge. These both looked to be triggered by cornice failures, and within the last day or two. The south ridge up to Cirque was pretty wind hammered but was still skin-able most of the way. Most of the cornice isn't large, except for in one notable spot where it's really overhanging. The ring anchor in the couloir is a little bit of an exposed reach to get to, probably because the couloir has some room to fill in. A 35 rap didn't quite make it past the thinly covered rocks. The skiing in the couloir and the fans was quite nice, with only a slight soft slab character. A small slab released between tracks for the second skier, but crumbled to soft debris shortly after. Winds were strong or higher in the afternoon above 2400m blowing from the SW/W, and a lot of transport happening with the new snow.