[MCR] N. Cascades, Coquihalla area, Nak Peak, Dec 24 2010

Went for a quick pre Christmas Eve tour in the East bowl below Nak Peak.
 
The Coq has not received the winds and precip that areas further to the west have received the last two days.  There was about 9 cm of storm snow.  The mid December crust is down about 10-15cm near the highway and about 30cm at 1700m.  Compression tests produced easy to mod results in the snow above the crust, and hard results within the 15cm thick crust.  None of the results popped or dropped.   The snpk below the crust is well settled and strong.  We didn't observe any slab, but we were skiing in fairly sheltered areas well below ridge top.
 
Trail breaking was easy and the ski quality was pretty good (you could sometimes feel the crust below 1400m). Temperatures remained below zero while we were out there, hopefully freezing levels won't rise too high in the next day or two.
 
Paul Harwood
ASG