Elephant's Graveyard

We headed out to Elephant's Graveyard today to catch some of the corn cycle. Along the way, the weather was just about perfect with no clouds, no winds, and warm temperatures in the mid 40s to low 50s. On our route, we saw a variety of snow conditions, in below tree line terrain there was patches of melt freeze crusts and near surface facets. As we gained elevation and went into near tree line and above tree line terrain the wind effect was greater. We encountered all types of surfaces, supportable wind board,  sustrugi, and patches of ice. Upon our arrival at the graveyard, the east facing slopes had softened up and corn skiing was good at 11:30 at 9500 feet. During our descent, there was no signs of instability or pinwheel formation on this solar aspect. Direct sunlight and the timing of the day amplified the quality of the corn. As we traveled back on more north facing aspects, we had cold snow and yet again stable conditions with no signs of instability.