Spring touring

[Butter4dayz]

Yo, so italy is coming out of lockdown and i was considering doing some touring on weekends just to shake up from the daily work from home monotony. snow is basically gone, but on some north faces there is still a bit. i was wondering on the avy danger on these faces. keep in mind i would not be going super high up were the real spring touring is (i ski in monterosa range, so in normal year you go glacier skiing), bur rather trying to ski on whatever little snow is left.

anyone that has any info/tips/resources it would be appreciated

 

[brogoldenhair]

Do you have any avy education? Generally in the spring the most common type of slides are wet slides as the snow warms up in the day, pay very close attention to temperatures/if it freezes overnight, etc. On my spring tours I start in the dark and always try to get out before noon. Often a precursor to wet slides are roller balls, small little balls/wheels that leave tracks in the snow and pop off as they melt. Find someone who knows your specific snowpack/an avy forcaster and see if there's any deep underlying problems in that years snowpack/in general, I can only give advice from my experience (USA).

https://avalanche.org/avalanche-encyclopedia/slide/

https://backcountryaccess.com/spring-snow-conditions-avalanche-safety/

https://backcountryaccess.com/sendandreturn-springtime-avalanche-tips/

 

[Butter4dayz]

I appreciate the time you took to reply. I do have training to some extend and I guess this is part of that training. I was just brainstorming on the feasibility of my idea and right after I wrote the post I wrote to the guide I usually go with. Still awaiting his answer. What I’m going to do is go and scope the patch if snow i have in mind In a couple of days to see what it looks like etc thank you for the resources !

 

[brogoldenhair]

I appreciate the time you took to reply. I do have training to some extend and I guess this is part of that training. I was just brainstorming on the feasibility of my idea and right after I wrote the post I wrote to the guide I usually go with. Still awaiting his answer. What I’m going to do is go and scope the patch if snow i have in mind In a couple of days to see what it looks like etc thank you for the resources !

Yeah dude! Corn skiing's the shit. Have fun out there

 

[brogoldenhair]

I appreciate the time you took to reply. I do have training to some extend and I guess this is part of that training. I was just brainstorming on the feasibility of my idea and right after I wrote the post I wrote to the guide I usually go with. Still awaiting his answer. What I’m going to do is go and scope the patch if snow i have in mind In a couple of days to see what it looks like etc thank you for the resources !

Yeah dude! Corn skiing's the shit. Have fun out there

 

[SkiingNinja]

Agreed with what was said earlier about wet releases. Look for a hard freeze from low temps, clear skies, etc. Preferably multiple nights in a row, not just one night, especially after any rain that saturates the top of the snowpack. A good freeze will also make booting easier, but you'll want ski crampons if you are skinning on lower angle frozen snow.

I work for a guiding company and I'm organizing a series of mini virtual classes next week. We've got a "snow day" on Thursday and one of the topics is spring skiing considerations where one of our ski guides will talk gear, snowpack, etc. It will be in the context of snow in Colorado, but much of it is applicable to mountain ranges around the world. You may get some good stuff out of it: https://coloradomountainschool.com/events/

 

[Butter4dayz]

Agreed with what was said earlier about wet releases. Look for a hard freeze from low temps, clear skies, etc. Preferably multiple nights in a row, not just one night, especially after any rain that saturates the top of the snowpack. A good freeze will also make booting easier, but you'll want ski crampons if you are skinning on lower angle frozen snow.

I work for a guiding company and I'm organizing a series of mini virtual classes next week. We've got a "snow day" on Thursday and one of the topics is spring skiing considerations where one of our ski guides will talk gear, snowpack, etc. It will be in the context of snow in Colorado, but much of it is applicable to mountain ranges around the world. You may get some good stuff out of it: https://coloradomountainschool.com/events/

Thank you. Will tune in