Backdoor,man!

Trip date: Wednesday Nov 24, 2021

Submitted by SteveR

Particpants:

The usual suspects

Discussion:

Eased into our ski season today with a very enjoyable out and back on Tyrwhitt via the backdoor. Parking was close to capacity at 11 am, but there is a pullout with plenty of room 800m to the north. New snow depths were variable-about 5 cm at the trailhead and upper Whiskey Jack, and 12 or more at the Trywhitt highpoint that tapered off a bit towards Elk Pass. Ski conditions were decent and reasonably quick on light backcountry touring gear, with the fresh stuff already snowmobile packed on Pocaterra and Tyrwhitt. Pocaterra was quite smooth and flat, Tyrwhitt had some ridges and bumps that were much improved by repeated passes by the snow machines later in the day. One of our group was on narrow track skis and found conditions a little more challenging, but still reasonable. Short forays onto Lookout and Whiskey Jack revealed a firm, relatively smooth hard base, under the unpacked snow. Off trail travel in the Elk Pass area was supportive with 10 cm penetration on 55 mm waisted skis, albeit with some bumps and willows. Temps of about -5 made waxing easy.