Conditions Report: Better Than You Think
Sledding conditions in Golden are pretty good right now. Many riders have been pleasantly surprised this week and conditions are proving to be better than you thought they were. There’s been 20-30 cms of fresh this week and when you combine that with the facts that Golden’s alpine mostly free of rain crust and also that the moderate avalanche ratings are allowing for some explorations, then it adds up to some fun sledding. It’s not epic deep but it’s a long way from terrible out there. There’s 10+cms in the forecast along with some sun and normal winter temperatures. Avalanche danger is rated at Moderate and grooming operations are in full force in all 3 staging areas.
Nice to see the sun on Feb 7 in Quartz
Fresh pow in Quartz on Feb 4
12 o-clock in Quartz on Feb 7
nice views on Feb 7
fresh at the end of the day still on Feb 7.
volunteers wanted to put this wood into the sea can at Quartz.
Please put the wood into this sea can at Quartz.
Travel
TCH-1 Highway
BIG NEWS! Highway 1 is fully open east of Golden with NO scheduled stoppages and overnight closures.: Kicking Horse Canyon Calendar
Warning! – Just east of Quartz the frost heaves are worse than ever this year. Slow down if you’re hauling weight…
CALL YOUR KMS!. Please note there is a lot of industrial traffic on the Dogtooth FSR this year. Grab a radio and call up on RR27
Snow & Weather
SNOW AND WEATHER
Like we said in the intro, the snow is maybe better than you think it might be. After the crazy warming weather we had, people had really low expectations and then got pleasantly surprised. Below treeline is still a bit hard and tough to sled in. This weekend is all about the alpine, that’s where the best snow is. Looks like we’re going to get the visibility and avalanche conditions that will make it reasonable to venture in these parts.
Definitely enough snow to get stuck in on Feb 4!
149 cms probed on Feb 6 at 2310m in Quartz
snow forecast near Quartz on Feb 8
Avalanche Safety
Avalanche Conditions
Check Avalanche.ca everyday you ride!
From Avalache.ca on Feb 8: “The deep persistent slab problem remains a concern in terrain where the crust tapers. Human-triggered avalanches are possible. Exercise diligence and use good travel habits..”
Travel and Terrain Advice from Feb 8:
- In areas where deep persistent slabs may exist, avoid shallow or variable depth snowpacks and unsupported terrain features.
screen shot of avalanche.ca on Feb 8 for Purcells
Fracture line from Jan 31 when it was really warm.
Grooming
Grooming
Grooming operations are back to normal and grooms are being done on an as needed basis.
Smooth trails in Quartz on Feb 8
the last 7 km to the Silent Parking lot and especially the last 2km are very narrow. Call your KMS!
Silent Pass parking on on Feb 2
Staging Areas Latest Info
Quartz Creek
Silent Pass
Road was recently plowed. Gnarly frost heaves at 30-31 km got filled with gravel on Feb 7.
