Stevens Peak

Skied a SE aspect from 9400' off the Stevens Peak ridge today, and experienced a wide variety of surface conditions. Was able to ski to and from the car using the mine road, but coverage was very thin and patchy, and only passable in some sections because of the road, although even this had some spots melted out. Air temps were above freezing when I left the car around 1:30, and the snow was melting up to about 8500'. By the time I returned a few hours later, air temps had dropped below freezing, and these surfaces were frozen. New snow amounts were between 1-3 cm. Around the 8500'ish mark, snow coverage was more continuous, and a wide variety of surfaces were present. There was significant evidence of both wind scouring and wind transport, with very thin, very stiff slabs noted in certain locations. In a few locations, these slabs did propagate some cracks a short distance. I did hop on a few rolls where these existed, but outside of a few cracks, this had minimal effect. On shaded terrain features, there was some surface faceted snow present, although it had been blown away in many other locations. On many sunny slopes, there was a melt freeze crust, and in some places this was bulletproof, and in some places it was breakable. The new snow existed on top of this crust in a few locations, but mostly, it was non existent or had been redistributed. Overall, ski conditions were decent, but tended more towards firm than soft. The only precipitation during my tour was a brief graupel shower on the ridge.

Quick report