Crown Point

The uphill travel light was on this morning at Crystal, so we pivoted to a loop through Bullion and Pickhandle Basins as we looked for recent avalanches. No digging today - it was too cold, and I just dug in the area on Friday. 

We noted a few larger avalanches in the surrounding terrain and tons of wind effect, as described in the snowpack description section. Overall, the wind has changed the landscape dramatically since I was there a few short days ago. We did find some enjoyable ski turns in well protected trees in Pickhandle Basin, but otherwise, it was mostly firm wind-effect everywhere we traveled. 

Much like other reports, there is a lot of wind effect out there right now, even down at lower elevations. Wind slab, wind press, textured surfaces, sastrugi, areas scoured down to an icy surface, and wind stripped areas were all observed. There was wind effect well off the ridgeline and even down in the trees in some locations. Reverse loading and cornice development were observed due to the east winds.