Quick report
Lots of mid-level fog in the upper Alpental valley made for brutal visibility and we were unable to assess slopes at a distance. On the way up to the bench at Bryant Couloir entrance, the snow changed from heavy unconsolidated powder in Scott Bowl to wind effect hardpack with <3” new layer on top. On the 5200’ bench we again found soft heavy snow. We saw a group of three retreating back down towards us who told us they had dug an ECT at the top of the couloir and had multiple layers fail (3”, 7” and 12” if I’m remembering correctly…) and chose not to ski it. We proceeded to the couloir entrance to find a total whiteout. Since it wasn’t windy, we dug our own pit and had some snacks hoping conditions would improve. Our ECT on NNE aspect at 5220’ did not yield any failures of concern, but we did note it was dug nearish the leeward side of a rock outcropping and perhaps not the most representative of the area. My probe (320cm) did not reach bottom. Fog never lifted so we also retreated back to Scott Bowl.