You spent the morning lapping soft, shin-deep powder on a semi-treed slope at the end of a long drainage. But your planned exit today takes you above the morning’s skintrack, along the ridgeline and down an exposed slope into the next valley. And since lunch, a light wind has been transporting snow toward the afternoon’s run. So when you crest the bowl, the intended shot is capped by a cornice and rippled like sand at low tide. Do you drop in or retreat? Here’s a tool to help inform your decision.
For more on managing slope instability and risk from above, pick up the October issue of Backcountry Magazine, which includes detailed graphics and instruction on this skill.
BackSide Elevated Education Episode 19 – Ski Cutting a Slope from K2 Skis on Vimeo.
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Mountain Skills: How to really read the avalanche forecast
Mountain Skills: Twelve Things I Learned at Icefall Lodge’s Ski Mountaineering Course
The Skills Guide: Four Steps Toward Enlightenment
Mountain Account: False Sense of Security