Weather
Warm weather with lots of sun. High, thin clouds arrived in the early afternoon. Winds were calm below 11,500 feet and light with a few moderate gusts above treeline. There is very little snow left to transport at upper elevations. cloud cover: few; wind loading: previous; snow avail for transport: small smounts
Snowpack
We traveled through a variety of aspects between 10,800 feet and 12,600 feet. On the north side of the compass, in sheltered areas, the snow depth ranged from 45 to 60cm. Snow pits showed 10 to 20cm of 4-finger slab above the early-season weak layer. Collapses were sporadic but not uncommon. Tests produced mostly moderate results, with one easy result. See profiles. At upper elevations, the north half of the compass is highly variable due to previous avalanches and wind scouring. We targeted a few southeast terrain features above treeline and found a 2cm crust capping the basal weak layer. We targeted a drifted feature with 2 feet of cohesive snow above it, and did not get a result. We did not produce any collapse while moving through the terrain, even though the structure looked suspect. Sunny terrain features at all elevations became wet or moist throughout the day. Swirling winds helped keep above treeline slopes from becoming wet. . We experienced numerous collapses while traveling through northerly-tilted terrain at mid and upper levations. Collapses were less common than in previous days. Largest collapse radiated 100 feet or so.
Avalanche
I have documented a handful of avalanches from the 12/6 storm cycle. Most were small in size, with a few reaching large. Wind's often obscured crowns and debris piles, making it difficult to make sense of all the activity. I had good views of the Ruby Range, but at a distance, it was hard to understand the details of the recent avalanche cycle.