Crystal Mountain Backcountry

It was a very spring like day, and the snowpack resembled that same sentiment. The surface changed dramatically by aspect. Slopes that see long periods of intense sunshine are very firm, and slippery. Terrain that receives less sunshine has a surface that is breakable over a firmer layer below.  Lastly, on shaded aspects, the surface is soft but shallow. 

It feels silly to say "early season hazards still exist" at the end of March, but it's sort of the reality. Coverage is poor, and there are lots of obstacles. This is particularly true on S-W slopes and at lower elevations. Travel routes were convoluted due to all the obstacles. 

None observed

There's a lot of variability in the snow surface and snow depth. In general, snow depth increases noticably above about 5500ft. However, S -W aspects are thin to bare regardless of elevation. 

Steeper sunny slopes have a firm and thick surface crust. How thick? Thick enough to make me worried I'd break my shovel. On shaded aspects, 1-2 inches of faceting recent snow sits over the firm, thick 3/25 crusts. This new snow was poorly bonded to the old crust, but not much of a concern given that it's so shallow. On the off aspects (E and W) between these two there was generally a thin breakable crust over an inch or so of recent snow, then the burly 3/25 layer. Even subtle changes in aspect resulted in these general snow surface changes. 

On the more sunny slopes, the surface crust was so firm and slick it was a little scary. A simple slip could easily turn into a long uncontrolled fall. 

You could see evidence of previous wind affect on the snow surface with large drips, rounded cornices, and textured surfaces. However, we didn't find any wind slabs in the limited terrain where we traveled. 

Lower elevations are very thin! Below 5000ft, many slopes lack consistent snow coverage.