Groundhog day in the Wheaton
Quick reportinfo · Feb 5, 2022 · Vancouver Island
Quick report
- Weather
- cloudy, stormy, warm
- Ride Type
- denseTrees, mellowSlopes, openTrees
- Stayed Away
- alpineSlopes
- Riding Quality
- Good
- Snow Conditions
- powder
- Avalanche Conditions
- avalancheConditionSlab
When life gives you lemons (road closures), make lemonade (go to the Wheaton. Again). Summary of obs from a sled AST field day: Nice start to the day with temps in the -5C range not far above the valley floor. South wind picked up early pm and light-moderate snow started mid-afternoon. Riding conditions remain variable with a very soft wind slab underlain by increasingly large facets, depth hoar and willows. Worth going out in any case. Our group triggered a very small size 1 on a small steep feature, but otherwise found no signs of instability. Another group shared a pic of a size 1.5 triggered on a south aspect. From today, but we're unsure who/how on the trigger. 15-20cm crown and it broke a few 4" diameter green trees.
Avalanche
See pic. Reported by a 2nd party but unknown who triggered it.