Ski Conditions

4 photos

Ski Touring around Fairy Meadows

Northern Selkirk's - Adamants

Ski Conditions

Last week (Apr.29-May.6), we went ski touring/mountaineering around the Adamants out of the Fairy Meadows hut with a large group of friends. We had mostly sunny and warm weather with light winds and two brief afternoon flurries that included some rain and hail.

Ski conditions were okay, but the nice weather made for some great circuits. Weak refreezes overnight provided a short window of corn snow early in the day followed by wet and isothermal snow conditions in the afternoon. Dry snow disappeared by mid week, even on high north-facing slopes. There were large rain runnels on the glaciers. Temperatures at the lodge (2065m) were consistently above freezing and the snowpack settled significantly during our stay, with highly variable snow depths on glaciers (300cm down to 150cm).

We observed widespread avalanche activity, mostly on solar slopes, starting at 10am every day, but the activity decreased throughout the week. The avalanches consisted of loose wet and wet slab avalanches up to size 3 that failed on the ground with limited propagation. We did not observe any slab avalanches failing on the glaciers. We also observed icefall, cornice fall, and bridges opening up on crevasses. The alpine rock in the area is mostly dried up now.

On The Map

These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field.