This post is a guest contribution from one of our Bolton Valley Backcountry Guides, Alek Jadkowsky.
Saturday’s bright sun and warm temps made for some amazing ski touring conditions, and my crew and I all worked on our sun tans while we skied creamy south-facing lines. However, all that solar energy really thickened up the snowpack. Now that temperatures have fallen again, I expect that south-facing aspects are going to have a significant breakable sun crust.
Our north-facing terrain is still staying shaded all day long and the snow there is dry and soft. With the addition of a few inches on Sunday and a few more last night, all the terrain that doesn’t have direct exposure to the sun should be skiing great. Ridgetops have become pretty scoured by all the high wind, but you only have to drop 30 feet before you are back into the good snow. With cold temperatures and high winds in the forecast for the next two days, you probably don’t want to be exposed up on the ridges anyways!
Stay safe out there!