We are just back from the heliguides Level I course in Haines. The large and numerous slabs clearly visible on the mountains throughout the area were all from the last storm cycle, several weeks ago.

The snowpack is much like that we have been reporting on in Juneau, very faceted, but is even more so due to the colder weather in the Haines area. There are some windslabs and pillows with very weak faceted grains under them now, so we chose our terrain very conservatively. Some areas had dust on crust (shallow powder), while areas sheltered from the wind and sun had 10-15cm of fresh snow over 10-20cm of sugary facet powder that was very good riding.

As we left on the 8th, it was snowing but much more lightly than in the Juneau area.

The Haines snowpack has persistent weaknesses that will demand extra caution when the big spring dumps come this year. Get out and have fun, but choose your terrain with more than usual caution.