Another kick at the TC2T cat.
Trip date: Saturday Apr 15, 2023
Submitted by aqua toque
Particpants:
aqua toque
Discussion:
In a classic case of TIE (Timing Is Everything) I had an awesome day of DOC (Dust On Crust) TC2T on a big old (E-facing) cutblock in the vicinity of Powderface Ridge. The objective is accessed via Hwy 66 beyond the winter gate followed by a long, wide former logging skid track.
Recently around these parts we've had several good melt/freeze cycles followed by dribs and drabs of overnight flakes. This was to be the first of a few very mild days so I figured getting in there early today might pay dividends.
Imagine my dismay as driving up to the gate all I saw was bare pavement on the highway beyond. I almost turned around and did the 15min drive home! It was 7:30am and there were already several vehicles and various weenies in running shoes headed for Prairie. There was still snow in the ditch so I quickly got my boots on, grabbed my skis and scampered over to the snow before anybody laughed at me.
Turns out I was only in the ditch up to the Powderface Creek trailhead after which for the most part the road was still snow covered. I would describe conditions on the road as FOC (Frost On Crust). A bit of langwanker wax on the AT skis worked brilliantly and travel was fast. Leaving the highway and heading up the skid track the melt/freeze crust was super supportive and now covered with an inch or two of nice dry snow. Up at the cutblock the dry snow was now 3 to 4 inches and the crust was solid and uniform. Indeed, my TIE sense was bang on!
All in all I was up at the cutblock from about 10am til 2pm and despite full sun all day I did three wonderful runs with no loss in turn quality. Lower down on the way out the skid track the sun was causing the surface snow to get wet and sticky but the underlying crust was still bomber--think cream cheese icing on a 3 day old crusty bun. Things were far from going isothermal so getting back to the highway was no problemo. The highway was still OK for a skier but significant amounts of new bare pavement had appeared. Might need a bike for the road section next time.
In the end I was so glad not to have been discouraged by the sight of the bare pavement. I guess it just goes to prove the age-old acronym YDGYWK (Ya Don't Go, Ya Won't Know).