Saltbounds Road Area

It was a beautiful blue sky day out in the Soldiers today. We did not observe obvious instability but kept our terrain limited to low-angle and low-consequence slopes due to the widespread persistent slab problem. We observed a couple of small isolated wind slabs on E aspects while riding in but very little else for recent activity while glassing from high on a ridgeline.

We observed recent cracking, presumably groomer-triggered, in roadside cutbanks along Saltbounds Rd on northern aspects around 7100 feet.

Coverage is good in the Soldiers above 7000 feet after the recent storms. Total snow depths were approximately 1.5 feet below 7000 feet to 4+ feet above 8000 feet. Wind affected snow seems limited to 100 vertical feet of ridgelines and in exposed alpine terrain. We found a 1.5-2.5 foot (50-80cm) thick slab of snow sitting atop the 12/13 crust with weak faceted snow below that. Widespread persistent weak layers remain buried near the bottom of the snowpack yet seem to be healing and unreactive currently.

There is a recent rain crust near or on the snow surface that is 2cm thick at 7000 feet and thins to nearly nothing by 8500 feet. Widespread runnels resulted from this rain below 7000 feet.

Dug a quick pit while getting sled unstuck at 8100 feet on a N aspect protected from ridgetop winds (profile photos included)

• HS 115cm
• ECTX
• PST 33/100 END @ 45cm on facets below the 12/13 crust