Quick report
- Cracking
- isolated
Skinned up from DeRoux Camp to Iron Peak via the Eldo Ups route. Widespread crust and firm ice up to 4800' transitioning to pockets of powder and widespread windboard on windward slopes and firm crust on West/South facing slopes at and above treeline. The group objective was the East bowl off Iron Peak. We knocked a cornice into the bowl on the NE aspect and dug a pit at 6'400 at the top of the bowl. The pit test showed about 6cm of unconsolidated powder above 3 stacked windslabs that detached in 2-3cm slices. Below that was 80 cm of 1F hard snow. We were not able to isolate any crusts in the larger and did not dig any deeper to identify layers further down. The group all skied the NE aspect without any avalanche activity, the snow was firm and choppy through the majority of the line. In the trees at the bottom of the bowl the snow was less consolidated powder. We skinned back up through Eldo Pass and had deep powder on the skin track. On the uphill we noticed a small isolated slab break off below the skin track that did not propagate. We returned to De Roux Camp via the Eldo Creek drainage in decent powder down to 4800.' After that it was annoying crust in the shade and baked firm corn in the sun.