Snug Harbor to Mt. Ascension

We traveled from Snug to the base of Mt. Ascension and found generally good riding conditions throughout the day. Rainbow Lake, along the trail, was slushy and wet in parts and with more warm temperatures on the way we will likely see more standing water atop the ice.

New snow was not bottomless but provided fun riding in wind-sheltered terrain. In most areas, we observed 1–2.5 ft of recent snow resting on a firmer underlying layer. Above treeline, in areas that typically receive wind, surface conditions remained soft, though wind redistributed the snow and new snow depths were often shallower.

Below approximately 2,200 ft, older tracks remained partially visible in sheltered terrain and snow was slightly heavier.

We observed a handful of recent natural avalanches that likely released during the January 29th avalanche cycle. These avalanches were primarily 2–4 ft deep, with some exhibiting wide propagation.

We did not complete any formal snowpack tests during our travels, aside from rolling an occasional tipped sled and visually inspecting the snow surface and underlying layers. In the upper snowpack, we observed 1–2.5 ft of soft, moist powder overlying a variety of crusts. We did not dig deep enough at any location to observe the December facet layer.