Snow down to the valley started yesterday and continued through the night. We got around 25 cm of fresh snow on top and around 10 cm at the base which has added to the base depth and will mean a few much-anticipated lines this morning. Visibility is still not the best at altitude but should improve as the day progresses. Enjoy…
Backcountry Travel Advisory:
We’re seeing real spring conditions with high fluctuations in temperature reaching to around 10 on the plus extreme and plunging down into the negatives at the other. The night before last saw the temperature drop and snow down to the valley for the first time in a while which was repeated yesterday afternoon and through last night. This fresh snow is sitting on the old sliding pack on a mixture of crust and melt-freeze and will come off easily. There was no wind to speak of meaning a fairly even coverage however its possible there were some winds in the Alpine and if so there will be some packing on lee-ward slopes.
There are a lot of protruding rocks, gaping holes, big dirt patches etc. up to fairly high on the mountain, especially on solar aspects, that will have received a light dusting of snow but be very very careful if travelling down these. They don’t look like much fun at all. Northern Aspects haven’t received quite the hammering but warm temperatures have seen a lot of deprecation of the snow pack, rocks will be protruding, holes and cracks will be forming and fluctuating temperatures will have created crust and melt freeze conditions. Be extremely careful and scope any slopes well in advance before entering any off-piste areas.
Avalanche Hazard:
Alpine: Moderate
Tree line: Moderate
Below Tree Line: Moderate
See Below for International Danger scale classifications or click on the Canadian Avalanche Association web page for the International Danger Scale.
TEMPERATURE IN THE VILLAGE:
1 degrees C.
TEMPERATURE AT TOP OF MOUNTAIN:
-3 degree C.
WIND:
Changeable with some gusts.
VISIBILITY:
Fair at the base, average on top.
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Goryu/47:
BASE DEPTH: 80 cm (at the base); 260 cm (at 1500m)
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LIFT OPERATION:
Goryu Toomi, Hakuba 47, Happo-One, Tsugaike Kogen, Iwatake, Cortina, Sanosaka, Sun Alpina, Minekata, Hakuba Highland, Yanaba, all open