It's been several days since we've heard of or seen any avalanche activity. As a matter of fact, the last human triggered slide reported to us, and key term here is reported to us, occurred on Monday. Of course the lack of recent avalanche activity is good news and suggests our snowpack is adjusting to the big Solstice storm last week. While I think there is plenty of terrain to ride today and not trigger a slide, I'm still hesitant to jump onto steep, upper elevation slopes, especially if they face the north half of the compass, and particularly if I know they didn't slide during the big storm. The reason is- I'm in this for the long haul and right now the consequences far outweigh the reward. If I trigger a slide on a steep, shady slope, chances are it's gonna break to the ground, resulting in an unmanageable avalanche which could quickly get out of hand. With all the great riding out there it's simply not worth it, because with a little bit of patience, I'll probably be able to nail this same terrain later in the season.
Double Hill sled triggered avalanche Saturday December 26th. (Ted Scroggin photo)
Sled triggered slide Sunday the 27th, between Tower Mountain and Currant Creek Peak. (most_og photo)
Sled triggered Cherry Hill slide initiated low on the slope Monday the 28th. (Dave Kikkert photo)
It's a bit complicated now because you can probably ride plenty of steep slopes and not trigger a slide and think you're good to go. However, the kind of avalanche dragon we're dealing with- DEEP SLABS- often lets you get well out onto the slope before you find a weakness in the pack, collapse the slope, and then BOOM... or in this case WHOOMPH, you're staring down the barrel of a very dangerous slide. Wanna get in on the powder party and not worry about avalanches? It's easy.... tone down your slope angles or simply boondock in the trees and meadows far away from anything steep.