Quick report
- Cracking
- isolated
- Collapsing
- isolated
Another challenging day in the zone. I proposed this getting up to Canoe/Kayak because of the low avalanche risk and complex terrain over fields of slide alder. The route we took required a lot more time than we anticipated and we ran out of daylight, so we turned around at the saddle below Pt 5314. I wore my crampons the bulk majority of the trip because the south facing slopes’ snowpack was transitioning to soft slab/corn snow over the knife hard crust I encountered the day before as the day progressed, despite the cold temps. Sun exposed slopes had a crust formed on it, whereas shadier slopes had dust over crust conditions. The snowpack was a mix of different stabilities: facets/corn by buried logs and boulders; icy chunder/base over avy chutes and under trees; strengthening wind slabs/sun crusts in the shadier portions of the compass dial (N/E).
Avalanche
Saw a number of recent D1~D2 wet loose debris piles off steep unsupported south and west facing cliff faces