Black Prince Fan Feb. 3

Fantastic skiing on the fan/hourglass feature west of Black Prince tarns today. Of course, on the trail leading to the tarns, the recent rain had left an iron-hard crust but by the time we were at the tarns there was 2-3 cm of fresh powder. As we rose above 1900 m the powder got even deeper, about 10 cm at our first launch site, laying over a 10 cm crust above a stable mid-pack of about 60 cm. There were several size 1 slides at the hourglass and surrounds but these appeared to be at least 24 hrs old. No other signs of instability.

We did 4 runs on unfarmed powder and loved every minute. The starting temperature was -12 C, but felt warmer. A few sunny moments were welcome but we had grey skies most of the day. No wind to speak of and that was a blessing. Mid-day temperature was -7 C.

On the way out, we found that the ice bridge over the creek was...er...less secure than when we went it. All of us gave our skis a good washing. Thank goodness we had only 2 minutes to go before reaching the car.

Thanks to Carol G for many of the images.

Black Prince Fan-Smiles Before Launching

Black Prince Fan-Fickle Sunshine

Black Prince Fan-Approaching the Hourglass

Black Prince Fan-Disappointment (ha!)

Black Prince Fan - Guy is a Powder Hound

Black Prince Fan - Sim Takes a Cool Dip

Participants: Sim, Chip, Carol, David.