Cruickshank stank

Quick report

Weather

foggy, wet, cloudy

Ride Type

mellowSlopes

Riding Quality

terrible

Snow Conditions

wet

Avalanche Conditions

avalancheConditionTemp

We found excellent sled travel conditions from our staging point at almost 9km on the East Fork. Snow covered road took us to the top of the Cruickshank/Castlecrag cutblocks without hitting bare spots. Light rain eroded snow on the road during the day but egress was fine. With continued rain it may not be. Once we reached the forest at 1250 m it became clear that safe or straightforward skiing would not be possible. Sledding in the cutblocks looked even more problematic. We opted to save it for another day and hope the access conditions stick around! The 105 cm snowpack we found in a slightly deeper spot consisted of 15 cm of moist to wet snow sitting on an unsupportive and deteriorating crust, followed by several more moist crust and soft snow layers. A moist 50 cm crust sat on the ground. Coverage in most open areas was closer to 70 cm, while under the canopy it was a dismal 5-30 cm.