The Lake Louise Lowdown provides a behind-the-scenes look at the operation of a large ski resort in the Rocky Mountains of Banff National Park, specifically from a Snow Safety and Mountain Operations point of view.

Click on The Lowdown on the Lowdown above to read more of what this blog is about.

If all goes according to plan, Boomerang will open to the public for the first time this season later today (Sat). The bowl itself has been loaded with snow for a while now, but a few things have prevented us from opening that terrain sooner.

First were the open creeks at the end of the outrun flats, at the Hump. It’s the only way to exit the area, and there needed to be enough snow to fill in the creeks. Also, we’ve been faced with the same avalanche conditions that exist elsewhere on the mountain – conditions that have produced large avalanches in much of our alpine terrain, thanks to the rain crust and layer of faceted crystals formed in October.

Similar to the results we saw a few days ago in Whitehorn II C and D Gullies, the avalanche teams were working their way along the hike to Upper Boomerang, throwing shots to control the slope along the way. When they arrived at the top of Brownshirt, they saw that almost the entire slope had avalanched, likely from one of the shots thrown earlier hundreds of metres away. The avalanche also reached into the skier’s left flank of Shoulder Roll, and based on these results, the avalanche teams had to do more laps through the area to ensure they removed the risk, and to set up the long fence lines that are needed to control this large piece of terrain. The fence line that divides Brownshirt from Boomerang and Shoulder Roll had to be placed on steel rails pounded into the ground, since the snow in which they usually sit had all slid away.

Skiers traveling to Boomerang may notice that F and G Gullies of Whitehorn II look to be in great shape. True, there’s lots of snow in both of those gullies, but they are subject to the same crust and facet layers that exist elsewhere, and it’s now almost a certainty that those will slide as well in the near future – whether naturally or as the result of explosive control work. Hard to watch, but necessary so that the run can rebuild with a more stable snowpack.

So, for those who have their hearts set on skiing some of this terrain, do not only watch for snow in forecasts, but also for wind, since these are leeward slopes, and wind is instrumental in filling them in with snow.

Exactly two weeks after opening day, November 20  marks the first day that all lifts (except the humble Magic Carpet) will open at Lake Louise for the 2009-10 season. Thanks to continued snowfall and good snowmaking weather, most runs accessed by these lifts will open as well. While Pika is the only back side run that has received snowmaking, most other runs accessed by these lifts are in great early-season condition. As usual, ‘early-season’ means there’s still small trees, bushes, rocks, etc that lurk at or near the snow surface, so caution is advised. Runs like Ptarmigan and Lynx are in excellent condition for those adventurous skiers who are able to navigate around these obstacles.

The only back side runs that remain closed in these two areas are Ptarmigan Chutes, Lipalian Chutes, Elevator Shaft, and Rock Garden. Tower 12 & Lookout Chutes will open pending further avalanche control work. In addition to Pika, Larch, Marmot, and Lookout runs have been groomed, and while they have not yet achieved their mid-season smooth grade, there’s lots of soft corduroy for those looking for it.

The Larch area has actually been in great shape for a week or two now, but the only thing preventing it from opening earlier was access along Pika, particularly the lowest part between the base of Paradise chair and Temple Lodge. The narrow section below the chair has an open creek running down one side, and it takes a lot of snowmaking to fill that in and produce enough snow that the snow cats can build the run.

On Ptarmigan side, most of the preparation revolves around avalanche control and closure fences for Ptarmigan Chutes. The fence that runs along the top of the ridge is fairly straight forward, but the one that runs downhill parallel to the lift goes through stands of trees, and is slow going.

All that aside, the hard work of snowmaking, grooming, patrol, and avalanche control teams has paid off, and with all chair lifts now open on the mountain, we can continue working terrain and getting more open.

The last few days at Lake Louise have seen some turbulent weather, as the latest system to roll through came in like a lion (high winds), and went out like a lamb (fluffy snow). Yesterday (Tuesday), most lifts on the mountain closed for at least part of the day as high winds played havoc with both our lifts and avalanche closure fences and signs.

Since the wind we get at Lake Louise usually comes from the south/south-west, the front side lifts are more susceptible to wind closures, and once we started getting gusts in excess of 80km/h at the top of the Grizzly Gondola, the time came to stop loading the lift and wait for the wind to subside a bit. Top of the World chair followed shortly after. Chairs can swing wildly in high wind, and the chance of a line derailment increases if the lift is moving. Also, if the lift were to stop, we have to think about any people who might be sitting on the chair and exposed to potentially unsafe conditions.

The other alpine lifts – Paradise and Summit – remained open, at least for the short term. Paradise is on the leeward side of the mountain, and riders don’t get a sense of the wind that’s pounding the front side until they get to the last few metres of the ride. The one thing we need to make sure of there is that people are able to unload the chair without the wind blowing them back into their seats. The Summit Platter is a surface lift, and therefore is not subject to the same issues as a chair lift in high wind.

At the same time, both Paradise and Summit did close, but not for lift-related reasons. While traveling down the fence that separates Paradise Bowl from Upper ER 5, and avalanche control team noticed that entire sections of closure fence and their signs were being blown away. Without the ability to maintain these vital fences during the wind, the avalanche forecaster decided it was best to close all alpine terrain until the wind let up and we could get a chance to ensure all avalanche closures were in place.

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This morning we arrived to a different scene. The winds had almost completely abated, and another 10cm of new snow had fallen during the night. The avalanche forecaster had a tricky morning of doing his stability checklist and deciding on the best course of action for the day’s control work. Not only were the winds from the previous day blowing strong, they were also coming from other than the usual direction, which means re-thinking every bit of avalanche terrain and having the teams ready for anything.

My team headed straight for Summit, and after hiking up to the peak, skied down over the Boomerang entrance traverse and made our way to the top of D Gully in Whitehorn II. We had 5 explosive shots with us – three single shots, and two nukes (two shots taped together). Due to a combination of high wind, moving snow, and the predominant rain crust and facet combination that has been causing natural and manmade avalanches all over the national park, we expected big things, especially in terrain like Whitehorn II, where there has not been extensive control work.

Making sure fuse is lit before throwing bomb.

Kaboom! - above the Boomerang traverse.

Once at the top of D Gully, I attached an igniter to the fuse of one of the nukes, lit it, and threw it down as far as I could so that it landed on the skier’s left flank of the gully, well above the narrow choke about halfway down and the part of the slope that generally produces results. The bomb went off, and while nothing but surface snow was affected around the shot placement, it did cause an avalanche to start about 30-50m downslope. All snow above the October crust ran, and it included the full width of the gully by the time it got to the choke, running far out onto the flats at the bottom.

Satisfied with that result, we began to make our way over the top of C Gully to do the same thing there. My partner began the traverse, and was no more than a few metres into it when suddenly there was a “woomph” as his weight caused the weak layer in the snowpack underneath him to collapse. he heard and felt this happen, and immediately looked around to see if the slope was avalanching. The snow around him stayed in place, but as we looked downslope, we saw that another large avalanche had started about 60 or 70 metres below, and, like in D Gully, was running on the crust and went pretty much side to side. This was a remotely triggered avalanche, since the start point was different from where the load (weight of skier) had been placed on the snowpack. In all likelihood, the weak layer of facets had collapsed under his weight and travelled horizontally to a point in the snowpack where there was enough tension, and possibly a weak point (boulder or other ground feature), resulting in the avalanche. This was similar to what we saw in Whitehorn I recently, when a patroller traveling well underneath the slope remotely triggered an avalanche far above him.

Remotely-triggered avalanche in Whitehorn II 'C' Gully.

With the avalanche starting far down slope, we were concerned about the snow higher up that did not slide (hang fire), and there was still quite a bit left. A single shot was thrown ahead of our progress, and when the explosion did not result in an avalanche, our worries eased.

Watching a slope get most or all of its snow taken away by an avalanche can be heartbreaking, but when you have such a suspect layer in the snowpack that’s producing avalanches all over the place, it has to be done in order to let the run rebuild itself. Otherwise, we’d spend the entire winter worrying about it. Now, at least in the places that have avalanched, that layer is no longer a concern, and the slopes have a chance to rebuild with a sturdier snowpack.

With most of the morning’s control work done, control teams can concentrate on ski cutting and getting ready for the next system to come our way. The forecasts are calling for more snow tonight and tomorrow, so the sooner we can rid ourselves of the weak layers, the sooner the slopes can begin the rebuilding.

Great skiing conditions are in store for those venturing to Lake Louise this weekend, as some of our marquee alpine terrain stands poised to open. Starting off the list for Saturday will be Saddleback Bowl, followed closely by Paradise Bowl either late Saturday or early on Sunday. Skiers and riders craving some fresh powder turns will be delighted to discover that Saddleback Bowl has been left untracked, except for the usual traverse that crosses below Whitehorn I on its way to Rodney’s Ridge.

Paradise Bowl is in great early-season condition as well, and will open once patrol teams have completed all of the fencing and avalanche control work that is required. Skiers can cross the Corridor as far as Fenceline Gully to access the bowl – access beyond that, toward ER3, Crow Bowl, and East Bowl, is still closed. On the other side of Paradise chair, Cornice Bowl (aka Paradise Cornice) remains closed as well. That leaves all of Paradise Bowl for everyone to enjoy.

After nervously watching the stampede of enthusiastic skiers and riders attack the terrain around Top of the World today, I was once again reminded that people will charge hard right out of the gate – early-season conditions or not! Lots of people were out enjoying the new snow, and as it starts to snow again in Lake Louise, we’re preparing to open the Summit platter tomorrow (Thursday), with access to Outer Limits.

Outer Limits, even before the recent storm, had grown a huge drift, and the new snow has added a nice soft layer on top. And as patrol and avalanche crews move to other areas, we’re continuing the expansion of open terrain with more runs and lifts to be announced shortly.

And yes, I know it’s still five days away, but more than one weather forecast is calling for significant snowfall to start late Saturday and continue to Monday. If that storm materializes, the avalanche control teams and ski patrol will have their work cut out for them, as kilometres of fence need to be set up, signage put in place, and avalanche control work performed in many places before more alpine terrain can open. Crews are already going at full tilt, and you can bet that’ll continue as conditions improve.

Thanks to the new snow we’ve received since opening less than a week ago, we’re expanding upward, as Wednesday Nov 11 will see the opening of Top of the World chair for access to Home Run, Mirkwood, Grizzly Gully, Grizzly Bowl, Wrong Turn, Tight Turn, Kernahan’s, and Upper Wiwaxy.

These runs are currently experiencing great early-season conditions, especially with the new snow that fell earlier this morning. Backside access won’t be possible on Wednesday, but we expect to announce further lift and run openings in the next day or two. Stay tuned for updates!

Looking down towards Grizzly Bowl and Kernahan's - Nov 10, 2009

Mirkwood - Nov 10, 2009

Contrary to the local weather forecasts we looked at yesterday, it’s currently snowing heavily at Lake Louise, with a few cm’s already on the ground. Added to the 25cm or so we received over the weekend, things are looking good for more lift and run openings later this week.  Avalanche control and trail crew teams have done a good job of traveling around the mountain and compacting the snow as much as possible, either by explosives use, ski cutting, or side-stepping on drifts.

A beautiful sight this morning - Nov 10, 2009

Disturbing the snow goes a long way in slope stabilization, as the layers in the snowpack are interrupted, and the disturbed snow settles in firmer than it was before. On avalanche slopes, ski cutting has the dual benefit of compaction and cutting up a large slab into smaller pieces, reducing the likelihood and consequences of avalanches.

As the avalanche control team moved through Saddleback a few days ago, they remote-triggered an avalanche that started mid-slope of Whitehorn I. It ran on a weak layer of facets, formed at the bottom of the snowpack when we had those unseasonably cold temperatures in October. In other locations, teams were experiencing a lot of  ‘whoomphing’, which is the term used to describe when a weak layer in the snowpack collapses, and the air trapped inside the snowpack rushes to the surface in an audible ‘whoomphing’ sound – hence the name.  Whoomphing tends to happen on flatter terrain, where the slope isn’t steep enough for the snow to avalanche, but the weak layer still exists and can collapse nonetheless. On steeper terrain, the collapse of the layer generally results in an avalanche, provided there is sufficient snow on top of the layer to run.

The photo below shows the avalanche in Whitehorn I. Remote-triggering refers to an avalanche that starts away from where the load was placed on the snowpack. What likely happened is the weight of the skier(s) caused a whoomph, which has the ability to propagate under the snow and travel along the weak layer for considerable distance, in this case running up slope until it hit a weak spot on the slope (around boulders perhaps) and causing an avalanche. The ski track in the photo is where the team was when the avalanche released.

Remote-triggered avalanche in Whitehorn I.

Finally, because you can never have enough shots of Boomerang in its undisturbed glory, here’s a shot taken yesterday from the top of Paradise chair.

Boomerang - Nov 9, 2009

It’s always nice when weather forecasts calling for snow are accurate, as they have been so far this week. After a white-knuckle drive from Banff this morning, it was great to arrive at Lake Louise in the middle of a blizzard. We’ll have crews on the upper mountain later today, so should know soon how much snow has fallen (and is still falling). In the meantime, here are some shots I took this morning walking from my car to the office. I can’t think of a more fitting way to start the season!

It’s the first day of the 2009-10 season tomorrow, and the day many have been waiting for is finally here, barely more than a month after closing our summer sightseeing lift at the end of September. The summer lift has had its cabins removed, and it’s now ready to go in winter mode. Cold temperatures have kicked in, providing a couple of epic nights of snowmaking.

The venue for opening day is the traditional route from the top of Glacier Express to the base – Bald Eagle to Wiwaxy, and then onto Easy St. at the bottom. Three rails will be set up on the left side of Easy St. and will remain there until the next temporary park opens on lower Wiwaxy in a few weeks. Once the World Cup and NORAM races have ended, we’ll make some snow and open the permanent home of the terrain park in its usual location on Easy St.

With the warm temperatures that were forecast for this weekend, we wanted to be sure we had the run ready by today (Thursday), since the daytime high temps were expected to climb well above 0C, and snowmaking would have to stop. Two cold nights ensured that we’d have the snow to build the run in plenty of time.

So, there I was cruising down some nice fresh corduroy this morning, checking out the handiwork of the snowmakers and groomers. The sun was shining, and there was not even a hint of the masses that would be on the run tomorrow. It was a very brief moment of calm in what has been the busiest week of the busiest month of the year, and we’re all looking forward to the big day.

A crew of snowmakers arrives at the base after a cold night on the mountain.

Juniper on its way to becoming part of the World Cup downhill course.

World Cup net monkeys at work on Men's Downhill.

 

Meanwhile, on the still closed upper mountain, snow continues to gather, thanks largely to our good friend, the wind. The trail crew is hard at work setting and moving fences, and the avalanche control team is now out daily starting the control work required to eventually get terrain open. Some places it’s possible to travel on skis, but others it’s not. Either way, crews are getting to where they need to be, and the work is getting done. Dave Petch, an avalanche control team member, took the photos below on October 30th, and there’s little question things are coming along nicely. If we get the snow that’s supposed to fall for the next few days, we’ll be skiing these places sooner rather than later.

Snow fences cover Home Run.

Snow fence at work, forming big drifts on Summit.

Patrollers stand on the Wave.

Whitehorn I looking whiter every day.

Paradise Bowl.

Trail Crew walks back to the top of Summit after working in Windy Gap.

Control team and dog Chollo approach Windy Gap.

Boomerang, anyone?

It was one year ago today that I posted the first article on the Lake Louise Lowdown, created to provide a behind-the-scenes look at the operation of the Lake Louise Ski Area. Up until now, January of 2009 was the busiest month for blog visits. This October, however, has blown January out of the water, with over 13,000 hits this month alone. At the same time I suppose it’s no surprise that many people are as excited as I am for the start of the season.

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It has just started to snow lightly in Lake Louise this morning, and the forecasts are calling for steady snow throughout the week. Temperatures are also dropping, which means the snowmaking system can run at or close to capacity all day long, without daytime temperatures warming enough to interrupt.

On the upper mountain, large drifts are forming around our snow fences, some up to four or five feet high. Natural snow depths vary wildly, mostly because our terrain varies wildly as well. Our avalanche forecaster has noted that we’re about 20-30cm of snow away from being able to travel on skis, although there are likely some places where this is already possible. Places like Boomerang, for example, which are flat with few surface features can be skied earlier than those places, like Whitehorn I, which are more bouldery and require much more snow and wind to make a viable ski run.

Drifts forming at the top of Paradise chair. (photo: Dan Beaudoin)

Long snow fences line the front side of Summit. (photo: Dan Beaudoin)

In the photo below, a snowmaker performs the tried-and-true sleeve test, which is a good indicator of the quality of snow being produced by the gun. The snowmaker stands in the snow “fallout” zone and holds out his arm. If the snow crystals bounce off the sleeve, they’re dry. If they stick, they’re wet, and the snowmaker will adjust the air/water mixture to achieve the desired result.

The ol' sleeve test. (photo: Brett Saunders)