Weather
Cold! Windy! Overcast skies with active snow transport from moderate to strong west winds.
Snowpack
Skinning below tree line in protected areas, I found 5-6 inches of new snow and the height of snow was generally 100cm. As I continued up the trail, the wind increased, and I witnessed snow blowing off the trees. When I arrived at the main east facing bowl, the wind was actively transporting snow, and I began to experience localized cracking on wind slabs. The height of snow on east facing aspects near tree line ranged from 20- 220cm and I observed sastrugi, a thin wind skin, and breakable wind slabs. A snow pit dug on east facing aspect at 10,710 feet revealed a right side up snow structure 60cm down in the snowpack. I did find near surface facets 20cm down underneath a F hard layer of decomposing snow, which could be a layer of concern in the future. As I approached southeast aspects near tree line, I noticed more wind stripped areas. A snow pit dug here depicted a surface P hard wind slab sitting over decomposing snow, a 1F layer and near surface facets. Extended column tests here produced minor propagation on near surface facet layer after blows from the elbow.