Sunshine Backcountry

As part of our annual Avalanche Refresher Weekend, we went into the Sunshine backcountry to do some terrain assessments, cut some blocks, and enjoy whiteout conditions.

It's been a dry winter so far, but Sunshine was advertising decent conditions, so we figured it might be suitable for some backcountry travel. After all, if there's no snow, then you can't dig a pit!

The parking lot was a zoo, as usual, but it was good to see that the back parking lot still exists, even after the floods. The trailhead is a bit different now, with an alternative start over a new bridge if you want to avoid all the construction equipment at the old trailhead.

There aren't many photos from this day, as we were in the trees for most of the way up, then encountered extremely windy conditions when we got to the end of the trees.

Owen forging on ahead

The old skin track went in and out of existence due to the wind, but we made our way to a small hill a bit before Healy Pass where we found some shelter. Two pits were dug, even though the slope was not steep enough to slide, just for educational purposes. We noted the formation of a recent wind slab on top of a melt / freeze crust, and then the October rain crust near the ground. The midpack seemed to be forming well.

The ski back down was awkward as the slope was not steep enough and the wind crust slowed us down. Once back in the trees, however, things got pretty exciting. It's a good thing no one was coming up the trail!

Afterwards, we had a BBQ at our place which involved great beer (thanks Owen!) and too much food. A good day!

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