Quick report
- Red Flags
- Wind Loading, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Despite very strong west winds, we didn't notice much drifting. Shallow, very hard drifts did not crack under our weight and cornice build-up was minimal where we were. We avoided obvious wind deposits on steep slopes. Found sugary faceted snow, spacial variation, and rather shallow snow cover in Boiler Bowl</p>
We found generally stable snow conditions and minimal drifting despite very strong winds. Temperatures stayed pretty cold at upper elevations, shrouded under clouds. The snow near the ridge was certainly wind-jacked, but it was pretty nice in more sheltered and shady areas.
Snowpack
We found fast shallow powder conditions in sheltered north facing terrain. Crusty snow surface elsewhere up high. Snow was slow, soft, and saturated at lower elevations. My sled would drop into bottomless slush in un-compacted lower elevation meadows.