Baxter Basin

The snowpack showed numerous signs of instability, and natural avalanche activity was observed throughout our travels.  The most concerning terrain can be found near and above treeline (deepest accumulations), where storm snow fell on a weak, faceted snowpack (northerly tilted terrain).  The slab remains soft in sheltered areas, keeping the avalanches small in general, but a heavily drifted feature may near a large size.  The shallow nature of the snowpack makes for tricky, 'rock-smacking' conditions.

The snowpack remains talkative on the north side of the compass, where the old snow surface is faceted and soft.  The slab in wind-sheltered areas is very soft and limits propagation potential, and in some slopes below treeline, there is enough ground roughness holding slabs in place after they fail.  Collapses and cracks traveled further in wind-affected areas where the slab is stiffer.  As we moved higher into near treeline terrain, where winds from last week had stiffened the old snow surface, signs of instability decreased; however, there was plenty of avalanche activity in the area, which suggests that the weak layer is present on numerous slopes and survived previous winds.