Illumination Saddle

Today I found a widespread crust from east through west aspects up to my high point at 9,300' on Illumination Saddle. The crust was supportable for skis but not for footsteps. 

Between elevations of 9,300' and 9,600', on the southeastern aspect of the west crater rim, I observed a couple of small wet loose avalanches. Both of these point releases occurred yesterday and were directly under rime-covered features. However, I cannot say with certainty that this was the triggering mechanism.

Despite the intense sun and clear sky, the crust persisted throughout the day at upper elevations. Unfortunately, I returned to mid to lower elevations too late and the snow was too sun-cooked to be skiable. The best turns of the day were right off of Illumination Saddle at 1:30 pm. The crust on Upper Zigzag remained as hard as it was in the morning and I observed golf to baseball-sized rock and ice debris scattered across the surface.

Around 7,500 feet, the snow texture swung to the opposite extreme of dense junk. Finally, in the Lower Salmon Canyon, I stepped out of my skis and sunk to mid-calf in wet cement

Rollerballs at middle and lower elevations.