March 6, 2011 Alpental BC

Did three laps in the bc today. Lap 1 down the ropeline from Nash to Snake Dance then out Elevator gate and down. Second lap was out to Pineapple Basin, down to the lake and out the traverse. Last lap took us down Stokes bowl and down.

Snow was fairly heavy in all spots. Up high there was still unskied swaths. Once into the trees the snow was really choppy. Even the slopes above Source Lake were chopped up pretty good. The chop began to set up during the day making for more interesting skiing. No major instability issues noted so the "Moderate" rating seems reasonable. There was a little bit of windslab on a WNW slope above the Pineapple Basin floor but it didn't really do anything when we skied through it.

Plenty of people up there today as well as several tiny dogs that made it (shivering) all the way to Source Lake. The traverse in from Source Lake is in amazing shape. Nice and wide and flat in most places.

Weather was pretty pleasant. Some threatening clouds moved in early afternoon and it was spitting snow around 3:30pm but nothing major.

Did I see you out at Pineapple pass today around 2:00?  Some skiers necking some tinnies!  Snow was certainly OK on that lap.  I was in full knuckle dragger mode today sans split so a lot of effort just to get there.

Yes the exit from source is the best condition of the year, I only had to dismount once both times I went down today unlike every other time this year.  Constant angle is good.

We went through around 11am. We were hitting Stokes around 2pm. Sorry I missed you, I would have offered a tow.