Cirque Forepeak

Quick report

Weather

warm, sunny

Ride Type

mellowSlopes, alpineSlopes, openTrees

Stayed Away

convexSlopes, steepSlopes

Riding Quality

good

Snow Conditions

powder, windAffected

Avalanche Conditions

avalancheConditionTemp

Toured up Cirque Forepeak south rib to beneath alpine bench. BTL travel still miserable outside of skin track, but increasingly supportive moving up into TL/Alpine. Signs of cross-loading and wind slab in alpine lee features, with poor coverage in windward zones. Low-angle terrain provided turns in light, sugary, snow. Inversion noticed during travel with alpine air temperature at 2500m rising to +0.5 in the afternoon with clear skies. Low westerly wind. Dug multiple pits ~2-3m apart with conflicting results on both Dec 17 and Nov 17 layers, highlighting variability in local terrain. W aspect @ 2450m. ~12:00pm. Slope angle ~25-30 degrees. HS 120-125. 4 discernible layers: 0-10cm: F surface snow 10-30cm: 1F wind slab (Dec 17th at bottom) 31-80cm: 4F slab (Nov 17th at bottom) 80-120cm: F basal facets Pit 1 saw CTM14 SC down 30cm on Dec 17. CTH29 SC down 80cm on Nov 17. ECTN15 down 30cm on Dec 18. Pit 2 saw CTH22 SC down 75cm on Nov 17. ECTP22 down 75cm on Nov 17.