Observation: Cardiac Ridge

Took the long way to Cardiac Ridge from the BCC side to avoid the high N facing slopes coming from LCC and also avoiding rocks as much as possible. I had a look at Cardiac Ridge before the latest storm and THE DEVILS IN THE DETAILS, the skiers right side under the main line had old snow from earlier in the year and today the snow on that part of the ridge looked wind affected and slabby, we stuck to the due east facing on the skiers left of the ridge to avoid the storm slab sitting on facets set up that the more NE facing part of the slope had. No cracking or collapsing or any sighs of instabilities were noted except minor wet activity on the SE facing rocks. There also was no sign of any prior avalanche activity in the whole drainage including Cardiac Bowl and LSB.

Photos: Cardiac Ridge with wind pillows under the main line with old snow underlying it, wet activity in the SE facing rocks, snow pit in the starting zone of Cardiac Ridge, 15 to 18 of new on dirt, the kind of line you might want to stick to for a while, grassy with no old snow underlying it or above it.

Total Snow pack in the starting zone of Cardiac Ridge is 15 to 18 inches with a layer of graupel at the ground, we did not venture out on the part of the ridge that was holding old snow from earlier in the year. snow was right side up and had enough density to keep you off the bottom while skiing, south facing aspects were damp and roller balling, by mid day.