Frostbite

We arrived at the lodge this morning and were greeted by lingering strong winds and obscured skies. Limited visibility amongst the flat light told us all we really needed to know: the landscape and new snow had been heavily scoured by the strong winds. We decided to try our hand with low elevations and hoped that the skiff of new snow and lack of a strong re-freeze below 3000' might make for some soft turns and better visibility. At low elevations, the snow is barely holding on. Our tour was only really possible due to Skeetawk's groomers working the snow all season. The lack of re-freeze made for a soft, corn-like crust on the old snow, and the new snow was dense, tacky, and smooth. We didn't get onto any steeper terrain, but investigating around some small terrain features revealed the new snow to be well bonded to the old snow surface. We anticipated that at higher elevations the old snow surface might be a little scratchier and new snow a little drier, but reports indicated the new snow had a similar consistency up to at least 4k'. I wouldn't doubt there to be some isolated areas of reactive wind slabs hiding out at ridgeline on upper elevations, but with the balmy temps, strong winds, and high humidity, in general the new snow will be pretty well glued to the slope. 

Above 1600' we found a centimeter or two of tacky, new, windblown snow. Temperatures at Frostbite Snotel remained at or above freezing for the last two nights and this was evident in a softer snow surface. In some thin areas off-trail, foot penetration resulted in sinking up to your knee, but in most places we found soft but supportable snow. Although we stayed out of the wind zone, we did observe some light drifting and extensive scouring at mid and upper elevations. Up to about 2800', the new snow remained soft, tacky, and well bonded to old snow surfaces. We observed some interesting rollerballing on low-angled slopes that usually is seen with strong winds and wet snow or rain, where the wind tries to transport snow but instead rolls it along the surface, creating rollerballs and pinwheels on incredibly shallow slopes. Think snow saltation, but with a snow consistency of sticky dough that makes the particles just roll along the surface and gain size.