Glorious snow!
With some areas in Kanasaskis Country having received up to 35cm in the past 3 days, conditions were finally making up for lost time. We were still sitting on a less-than-average base, but any snow was good news.
Avalanche conditions were high, so we decided to go to what is perhaps the easiest and safest backcountry destination around - Chester Lake.
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| Lunch at Chester Lake, with Gusty Peak in the background |
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We left Calgary to -22C. When we arrived at the trailhead, it was easily -5C, and perhaps even warmer than that. It was so odd to get out of the car and feel a gust of warm air!
Blue skies would occasionally peak out of the clouds, but overall it was an overcast day with a tiny bit of wind and snow.
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| Layers of snow, like rings in a tree trunk |
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After having lunch at Chester Lake, we ventured further towards Three Lakes Valley. However, we could see signs of fairly recent avalanches on the slopes of Mount Galatea, so did not get very far.
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| Boulder field on the way to Three Lakes Valley |
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To make the trip both fun AND educational, we decided to do a Rutschblock test on a 30 degree slope. The result was a 3, which indicates that a human triggered slide is probable. Kudos to Angie and Joanne for doing most of the work. I got to do the fun part by jumping on the block.
Afterwards, we did the requisite dinner at the Grizzly Paw. What a great day!
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