[MCR] Rockies - Bow Summit

[Public Mountain Conditions Report]

Great turns today at Bow Summit on a very quiet Saturday.

We had overcast, calm conditions all day with temperatures between -5  
and -3C. We found storm snow accumulations of 45-50cm this morning on  
a 190cm snowpack with steady light snowfall producing 5cm fresh by  
mid-afternoon.

Despite area reports of "upside down" snow, we found only isolated  
pockets of this with mostly excellent skiing on "right-side up" low  
density powder in sheltered areas below 2400m. At this elevation,  
wind effect began to become more obvious with some soft slabbing  
starting in isolated lee and crossloaded pockets, so we avoided these  
features and did not venture beyond treeline. Other than that, we saw  
no natural avalanche activity (though visibility was limited) or  
other signs of instabilities.  A test pit at 2400m (treeline) yielded  
a low-end moderate resistant planar shear down 30cm in the storm  
snow, and a very hard, resistant result down ~70cm where the old  
surface is still bonding with the wind effected new snow.

By day's end the road and most of the parking lot had had a visit by  
Mr. Plough.

Despite doing our best today, with only 3 parties out, there are  
still plenty of fresh tracks to be had!

Carl Johnston
AAG, RG

Nick Rapaich
ASG, AAG