Observation: Red Pine

Went up into upper Red Pine today to get a look at the alpine terrain, obviously it's been hammered by winds leaving wind scoured rocks, raised tracks, and trapdoor skiing conditions or firm windslabs, depending on aspect and exposure. I jumped on a bunch of windslabs and couldn't get any to release but a few did have localized cracking. The wind was still cranking on the high ridgelines moving snow on to leeward slopes and scouring slopes facing into the wind. Most of the terrain features were scoured or covered with hard windslabs as well. Not only is the snow windjacked in the terrain covered but most of the big lines in upper Red Pine aren't even in yet because a lack of snow. I wasn't impressed with the snowpack in the upper drainage, its thin, with a rotten and faceted base. Seems like when it does snow it's either gonna land on a hard slick bed surface or faceted loose snow. Photos are wind damage and some faceted snow on the surface.

The majority of the snow in the alpine as well as lower down in the drainage consists of windslab, breakable wind crust, strastrugi, hardslab, loose faceted snow and a few spots with settled powder, almost forgot the suncrust on due south.