White Pass backcountry

Wow! It's deep! I mean really deep. At middle elevations, there's typically 5 feet of settled snow over the 3/8 crust. It's so deep that travel was very difficult. 

The stormy weather definitely limited observations. However, despite viewing several avalanche paths on various aspects at middle elevations, we only found one small natural storm slab. Even still, with all the interstorm layers, we weren't willing to travel on or under any large slopes. 

Treebombs and deep snow were also very notable hazards today. Some of the tree bombs brought huge branches down with them. At times, it was scary, even in the forest. 

No notable cracking or collapsing

It's hard to say too much about all the recent snow. Several interstorm layers are visible and discernible in snowpack tests. However, none showed sudden failures, nor the potential to propagate. Here's a rundown of major layer depths by elevation. 

• 6400ft: 3/8 down 155-170cm, 3/12 down 75-80cm
• 5850ft: 3/8 down 155-165 cm, 3/12 down 75-80cm
• 5500ft: 3/8 down 130-140cm, 3/12 down 65-70cm
• 4900ft: 3/8 down 120-130cm, 3/12 down 60-65cm

The 3/12 was a discernible crust at 5500 ft, but not at 5800ft. 

Winds were definitely shaping the snowpack at middle and upper elevations. Drifts and blowing snow were common, however, the distrabution of the snow over the 3/8 crust was not generaly affected. 

The snow became notably heavier and more moist below 5000ft. Conversely, it was much drier above 5500ft. 

Wet snow issues were really limited to near and below 4500ft at White Pass.