Spent the past 2 days in K-country and things are changing fast around there.

Monday above Rawson Lake the snowpack was feeling "upside down" with some recent warmer storm slab sitting on the old cold pile of facets. Tedious trailbreaking and downhill skiing and the winds down in the South Kananaskis were still moving snow around at most elevations. We turned around below the steepest parts of the paths on the Sarrail ridge. As the terrain steepened the slab deepened and the risk-reward equation was glaringly negative.

Today above Tryst Lake the snowpack seemed more homogenous as we were skinning up. This was hard to evaluate in the chutes and the Super Slope as the old tracks were frequent, hard and a pain in the butt in most places.

Biggest change in the past week has been the wind effect. Kananaskis country was a very white world last week but the chinook has eaten the snow off the high Westerly features and there is a LOT of grey and brown showing now.

For some reason they have been grading the Spray road both days and it is currently a pleasant, almost corduroy kinda drive. Skijouring anyone?

Larry Stanier
Mountain Guide