Quick report
With great views of numerous slopes steeper than 30° and prone to avalanches, we did not any signs of unstable snow or any recent avalanche activity in the Steep Hollow Area. We found decent shallow powder riding in sheltered, shady terrain and in the forest, but you could feel and see underlying tracks from last week and before that in many places.
The exposed upper-elevation terrain was pretty wind-jacked and inconsistent.
The danger was LOW where we traveled today, but strong east winds formed drifts and hard wind slabs in unusual or unexpected places, and people could probably trigger hard slab avalanches in some very steep upper-elevation terrain.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>We found recently formed drifts and potential slabs to be well pasted into the terrain and unreactive to our weight. There was no cracking or other obvious signs of instability. The fresh snow from Wednesday/Thursday appeared to be well bonded to last week's snow surface.</p>
Open exposed areas were fairly inconsistent due to recent winds from the east, which scoured the powder off of bowls that usually offer nice powder. The powder was still pretty good up high in the trees and sheltered shady terrain