Wrong Way Winds

Yesterday’s northerly winds left hard pack conditions in many of the areas we usually ride at Bijoux. With reasonable visibility and easy traveling, we took the opportunity to check out the conditions in the alpine above Pine Bowl. The winds had been reverse loading slopes which left wind slabs in places we would typically expect to be scoured. This new slab was 10-40cm thick and gave variable but reactive results in our pits. Reverse loading can be a tricky problem because the snow is deposited over a range of weak, shallow snowpacks affected by wind. We paid special attention to clues such as drum like sounds and cracking as we traveled. On the way back we stuck to smaller test slopes and left the ridge line for the softer snow in the meadows below the bowl.