Jan 19, 2010 by Stano | 
Needle Peak (Coquihalla) and Rogers Pass conditions
Here is a brief report on conditions from Needle Peak (Coquihalla area) and Rogers Pass.
On my way to Canmore I planned two stops – a quick ski at Coquihalla area and a full ski day at Rogers Pass.
Forecasted avalanche conditions were quite different for the two locations and indeed the weather at both locations was quite different as well.
Needle Peak – Coquihalla (Jan 16, 2010)
Looking back at Needle Peak.
Weather conditions can be defined in two words – blue bird. But what surprised me was absolute absence of winds – even “calm” would be too strong of a word.
Snow within the treeline was quite deep and fairly dry. Once on the ridge and getting out of the trees the top layers were wind affected but it really depended on the spot how much the wind played its role as it changed quite a bit.
Skiing experience was pretty good, especially in the tree line. On the ridge not so pleasant, due to breakable wind slab, but definitely skiable.
Avalanches – I observed only one debris from a small slab that was about 8m wide and run for only about 15m. Might have been about 20-30cm deep. It was on NE aspect on a wind loaded slope above tree line.
Rogers Pass (Jan 17, 2010)
No surprises. Deep track setting at Rogers Pass.
Due to high avalanche danger rating at tree line and above we opted to head for Ursus Trees and then gain a ridge on the right side of the basin and ski laps there.
Weather was typical for Selkirks – high overcast with occasional breaks chased by small flurries.
However, the temperatures felt quite warm (about -2 C) even at 2000m. The winds were calm where we were.
In the trees we skied and pretty much anywhere in the tree line the snow was…super deep and…very good. 
Hard work setting a skin track though as the penetration on skis was about 30cm and more.
Skiing was Rogers Pass average, in one word – fantastic. We had the whole treed slope for ourselves, so we skied a brand new run every time.
We observed debris at couple of locations from avalanches from the previous days but nothing on that day.
Neither anything was going on a surface hoar layer in the trees we were skiing. However, these trees get skied a lot, therefore, the surface hoar might got destroyed before any snow fell on top of it.
More photos those two trips
I took this photo to show you one of the coolest lines skied at Rogers Pass. Greg and Aaron did two rappels over ice falls to accomplish this first descent. I believe they did it in the 2008/2009 season.
Looking west from the top of Needle Peak.
Skiing trees in deep snow at Coquihalla.
» Tags: Coquihalla, Greg Hill, Rogers Pass
What next?
Comment on this article below or share it with others:
One Response to “Needle Peak (Coquihalla) and Rogers Pass conditions”
Respond with your comment
For your comment to appear instantly for others to see you need to have a previously approved comment, otherwise it may take couple of hours for your comment to get approved (appear publicly).This is due to a high volume of spam comments with a sole purpose to seed inappropriate links. Thank you for understanding.
“Hard work setting a skin track though as the penetration on skis was about 30cm and more.” Waaaa! I feel so sorry for you my friend!