Steenburgh Winter Ends

What a Steenburgh Winter we have had this year.  We hit 100" for the first time at Alta-Collins on December 15th, giving us nearly two months with a deep snowpack and a low-angle sun.  With one exception, all of my ski tours after the November dry spell offered up freshies.  There are a lot of people ski touring today, so the ability to occasionally ski good snow on the south side of the compass on many days was greatly appreciated and enabled some creative ski tours.  

But alas, sun angle and day length are increasing, resulting in more and more solar energy input into the snowpack.  Slopes that were shady in December are now starting to see the sun. Only areas on or shaded by steep topography are still in winter darkness, as illustrated by the photo of Broads Fork below, taken a bit before solar noon on Tuesday.  

There's still good skiing to be had, and on average upper-elevation, north-facing terrain doesn't reach peak snowpack until late April.  Aspects on the north side of the compass can still harbor good snow days after storms. But February 10th marks the end of the crème-de-la-crème of low-angle touring season.  It is around now that the caustic influence of the sun becomes increasingly apparent with south aspects quickly damaged, even on cloudy days, and the range of aspects impacted by the sun on clear days increasing by the day.  Plenty of good powder skiing to be had still, but sun damage will become more common across a wider range of aspects and more quickly after storms as we move toward and into spring.  

Enjoy it while you can.