Quick report
First day out for the season and having been in southern Utah for the past two weeks, my main goals were 1. to make sure the gear works 2. Get an idea of snow coverage and conditions across different aspects 3. Not get hurt 4. Dust off the observation skills Felt like a spring day out there. Easily drove to the trailhead at 6700’ and found 1-3 inches of consolidated snow on the ground that traveled well despite the warmth and lack of depth. Many obstacles provided opportunity for creative route finding bobbing and weaving through the rocks, logs, and shrubs. Made my way up towards the lookout where snow depths varied at 8000’ from 6-12 inches on east and south aspects to 1.5-2.5 feet on shady northern aspects. I found supportive snow on all aspects, did not experience any collapsing, cracking, or see any signs of instability in my travels. Snow surfaces on southern/eastern aspects were wet and very springlike, corn, melt/freeze, etc… On northern aspects I found wind slabby textures near ridge lines and dry ish snow beginning to transition to melt/freeze. Despite the dismal snow depths, travel was surprisingly easy and ski penetration was minimal keeping my skis above the lurking sharks just below the snow surface. I stopped when climbing back up a north aspect to dig a quick pit and found a generally strong well bonded snowpack with a HS of 75cms. It had an obvious rain crust at 55 cms from the base and wet facets at the ground I was able to make snowballs with. A quick stability test hurt my hand and didn’t produce any noticeable results. I gingerly made my way back down to the trailhead taking note of the open water on the lakes, flowing creeks, and evidence of the previous week’s rain event. Do your snow dances, sacrifices, and make deals with the devil for cold temperatures and more snow!