Julbo

Valdez Conditions Update – by Julbo athlete Doug Workman

The heli ski season has begun on Thompson Pass, and we have been getting
unbelievable amounts of snowfall. Over 200 cms of snow has fallen in 10
days at the Tsaina Lodge where Valdez Heli-Ski Guides base their
operation. Unfortunately, this has meant a lot of down days so far, but it
is setting us up for an epic season when the skies do break.

This has been one of the biggest storms I have seen in Valdez in seven
years working here as a guide. In fact, it may be one of the biggest
storms I have ever witnessed, period. In a three day period this week, seven
avalanches have hit the Richardson Highway on Thompson Pass in between
mile 32 and mile 53. Some of these slides were naturally triggered, others
by the DOT Howitzer, and other still by ski tourers. Thankfully no one has
been hurt. In fact, there has been minimal human involvement in these
slides. Ski tourers have been very respectful of the impact of this storm.

Overall, however, the snowpack has good structure, meaning that when the
storm snow settles there will be plently of safe, deep skiing out there.
There is currently a surface instability within the new snow which is
reactive to ski cuts, but is is predictable and will heal in a short
amount of time when the storm abates.

Below is a picture of a small fracture initiated by an intentional ski cut
while doing a guide recon during a short weather window this week.