Towards Ledge: going for a walk in a storm

Quick report

abbi.chapman · Dec 29, 2022 · Gold

View on map

Quick report

Weather
stormy, windy
Ride Type
denseTrees, mellowSlopes
Stayed Away
alpineSlopes, steepSlopes
Riding Quality
OK
Snow Conditions
crusty, powder, wet

We turned around at ~1500m because of high winds, heavy snow, and poor vis but it seemed like the ski quality was starting to get good right around here. By 1pm there was 15-20cm of new snow at this elev. We did a few hand shears and while the new snow was predictably storm slab-y, it seemed like it was starting to bond to the crust beneath which still seemed a bit wet. In a few places the top couple cm of snow and was starting to form a stiffer wind slab. The ski out below 1400m is survival skiing on the crust with poor coverage. Habrich Spur was mostly fine. Crusty/icy with a couple cm of new wet snow on top by midday. Only had to take skis off to cross drainage channels 4-5 times. Shortly after 1050m sections of the road are open to bare rock with running water requiring creative skinning on the side slope among the alder.