A couple of friends and I made it up to Cameron Pass on Tuesday and found great conditions. A couple weeks worth of mild weather allowed for the consolidation of the snowpack’s upper layers while the weak storm cycle that came through this past weekend dropped several inches of low density precipitation with little wind. Unfortunately the winds picked up Monday night and began their usual cycle of destruction. By Tuesday morning the face was a blank slate with few tracks from the weekend visible, (though soft sastrugi –like wind runnels were obvious on most exposed slopes). Another party of backcountry enthusiasts were skiing the slopes of South Diamond that slid back on January 10th and it looked like they had triggered a small slide near the summit ridge. Other small pockets of natural activity were visible on the center of the face as well. [Read More]
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A small cell over the Never Summers has allowed for some light and varied accumulation. Winds have been whipping around and redistributing what has fallen. I skied up Seven Utes on Tuesday and found decent skiing. Though the area had been heavily tracked out over the weekend, enough new snow had fallen to partially cover the old tracks and allow for some pleasant skiing. [Read More] On Saturday around noon a large chunk of the N/NE face of S. Diamond slid. This is the third year in a row this slope has avalanched. Apparently it was a busy day up there; skiers and riders were farming turns on Ptarmigan Run, kids were hucking jumps at the base of Main Gully, and countless parties were traversing the bench below the face. Fortunately no one was caught in the slide. It is still unclear whether the avalanche was natural or remotely triggered by a party skiing along the ridge or down on the bench. [Read More] I made it up to the pass twice this week and found safe and stellar skiing on both occasions. As everyone knows, this season’s snowpack is delicate and reactive. We have a widespread issue with depth hoar that will likely plague us for months to come, and the complexity of the snowpack can drastically differ from location to location. Digging around on various aspects in different drainages near Cameron Pass I saw very little in common pit to pit. One constant was a large (35-65cm) bed of FC (faceted crystals) beneath various layers of / (Decomposing and fragmented precipitation particles) and + (Precipitation Particles). [Read More] The past couple of weeks have afforded me some incredible ski-tours in the Never Summers. I’ve been touring here since I was old enough to drive and I’m always psyched on the place. Lately I’ve gotten really excited about pushing longer trips into some of the more remote drainages along the Divide. While the usual Diamond Peaks, Montgomery Pass, Seven Utes, Lake Agnes area, etc… are all great destinations that offer good skiing, studying the RMNP border area on the map has me amped on longer, more committing tours. Snow-caves and heavy packs anyone? [Read More] |
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