Black Prince Tree Triangle

It's been a long time since I'd toured in this area, mainly due to the closure last winter from a hibernating grizzly.

The new snow has made for dangerous avalanche conditions in the Rockies. It also seems like people have forgotten that this is what our winter snowpack is like, more frequently than not. The past two years have seen great stability and as a result, new skiers (or those with short memories) have been getting into a lot of trouble this year.

The Tree Triangle seemed like a good destination for the day, given the avalanche ratings (432), the closure last season, and this being Owen's first time into the area.

There were only a couple of cars at the parking lot by the time we arrived. The temperature seemed moderate, and whenever the sun came out it felt like a spring day.

The track was set above the north gully, which seemed wise. The snow in the trees was very light on top of a supportive midpack. There was a crust in spots, but it wasn't an issue.

Summit of Mount Black Prince from near treeline

The two groups ahead of us chose to skin up to treeline. We stopped about 100m short, as the slopes looked very enticing and we found a nice, warm spot for lunch.

As seen through my sunglasses, an interesting light-diffracting cloud

The ski down was fantastic. I had forgotten how good the effort / reward ratio was for the Tree Triangle when there is new snow. We came down to the cirque and did not have to re-skin at any point.

There is more snow in the forecast for next week, so I see some more glade skiing in my future.

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