By the fourth week of March, the Dogtooth Range around
Golden became host to conditions that changed 02-03's place in history.
It went from septic to epic in the span of several weeks. It got
deep, it got soft, it got more stable; some lines that were being
consigned to next year's hit list made it back to the starting lineup.
Game on.

So what brought this winter back into the picture?

Steve Parsons and Jeremy Cox, avalanche forecasters at Kicking
Horse Mountain Resort, have been watching the Dogtooth Range all
season long, and have a few ideas.

On March 10, 2003, the teeth of the canine were
rooted in a rotten gumline of 137cm of snow, and, according to Jeremy,
"There was no way we were going to hit two meters (this year)."
Snowpack stability at the time was considered poor, with drought
conditions and cold air encouraging the danger due to lingering
weak layers in the snowpack. But, that night, it started to snow.

By March 14, 75cm of storm snow had
fallen, and the snowpack was beyond expectations, pushing past the
two meter mark. The snow was falling in warm conditions (it was
raining at lower elevations), and there was a lot of it. It formed
a soft slab rapidly, prompting a cycle of large avalanches
in the area. These avalanches ran on preexisting snowpack weaknesses,
generated by the lousy winter thus far. Weak, shallow areas were
pulling out big, especially with explosive avalanche control methods.
According to Steve Parsons, "...(this) storm pretty much cleaned
out most of the avalanche terrain inside and outside the resort
and helped strengthen some of the lower snowpack concerns where
it didn't slide. But the only reason things seem to be on the mend
around here is because of the major cycle.We are skiing on a new
snowpack in some areas." So, the first March dump cleaned up
some of the winter's ongoing mess, disinfecting bad spots in anticipation
of some good, clean wholesome fun.

On the morning of March 22, it was a balmy -1.5 degrees
Celsius when it started to snow again. By late in the day on March
23, there was 39cm of new snow on the ground, and it had cooled
off to -14 degrees Celsius. As Steve and Jeremy are quick to point
out, the warm start to the dump provided critical aid in helping
the falling flakes stick to the snow on the ground. Cold temperatures
in the later stages of the storm kept things from getting dangerously
slabby this time around. And, equally importantly, it dried out
the snow, making the pow deep and blower.

And the riding got very, very good.

Continuing cold temperatures and low winds have
enabled the storm snow to settle and dry out, keeping slab formation
minimal.

And the riding in the Dogtooth backcountry has stayed very good.
At least until now, the night of March 26, as I write this down.
The dump and subsequent avalanche cycle of mid-March cleaned out
some bad areas, and the two storms bridged over many snowpack problems
that remained, by burying them to depths where snow riders have
a hard time triggering them. A good time has been had by all, and
many fluffy, innocent lines have been slain.

So far. Things are still not perfect for all of
the Extremo Mountain Dude lines out there, and some have been slain
that should have stayed untouched. Steve Parsons notes the ongoing
potential for deadly avalanches in spots with thinner snow cover,
and in areas that did not slide during the first storm, where the
horrors of '02-'03 may linger still. Such areas may become especially
dangerous in the event of warmer temperatures and more snow or rain,
so good backcountry skills are needed to take advantage of anything
else that comes along before March roars itself hoarse and purrs
into spring...

Note:
Special thanks to Steve Parsons, Jeremy Cox, Geoff Haack, Kyle Hale,
and Mike Rubenstein at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort Snow Safety.