Quick report
I was a bit surprised to see so much faceted snow on S-facing slopes. Crust facet sandwich, really. Overall, variable surface conditions on all aspects and elevations.
Nothing too notable avalanche-wise except tracking the deteriorating/weakening surface snow which is widespread across the zone.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Saw wind drifted snow down low on exposed terrain features and evidence of wind raking through the gullies. We didn't get up to the upper ridge. We experienced shallow cracks around exposed terrain features that were only a few inches deep. </p>
We found some soft snow in spots, but the wind has done some real damage on all aspects and elevations in Woodcamp. Even the flats had a breakable wind crust. Travel was very easy except on steep slopes—hard to edge. Bootpacking was no better as I sank through to old facets just above the ground, wallowing. There is enough snow to travel on, but there is a lot of sagebrush and bushes still above the snow, making for a difficult exit.