Grandpa Couloir

Quick report

Alonzo Butler · Feb 2, 2020 · Vancouver Island

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Quick report

Weather
cold, warm, sunny
Ride Type
alpineSlopes, mellowSlopes, sunnySlopes
Stayed Away
steepSlopes, convexSlopes
Riding Quality
OK
Snow Conditions
hard, windAffected, powder

We did a decently long tour today, following Summit Creek into the valley, then turning north to ascend a mellow couloir to a sub-peak of Fraser. We kept to conservative terrain and avoided putting anything of consequence above us as best we could. Wind affect is widespread, and the riding is extremely variable. Like Shane said, the snow conditions could change several times in a ten metre stretch. The high alpine has been totally blasted, the surfaces are predominantly hard, and interesting wind formations abound. The winds were calm today, but they were clearly dancing quite a tantrum this week. We did not see any signs of recent avalanches or anything stepping down into basal weaknesses or other layers, such as the recent faceting from before the storm. There is lots of nice, soft snow down low where you can't really use it. I would imagine the sledding is probably pretty killer.