Quick report
- Cracking
- isolated
There were surprisingly good conditions at Powderhouse. There are surface facets of between 6 to 14 cm all the way up. There is some ice on the ridge and not much snow left to transport. Skinning up was challenging; the skin track was boilerplate and icy in places, even at 3pm. Ski crampons would have helped. Off the skin track, there was a tendency to slip due to the facets on crust. The descent was much more enjoyable than I expected; anywhere without a skin or ski track was basically light powder skiing. No signs of instability.
Weather
- Air Temp
- 25
- Cloud Cover
- few
- Wind Loading
- previous
- Snow Avail For Transport
- small smounts
Cold, blustery afternoon. Less windy than expected. Light NE winds.
Snowpack
On the forested N and NW slopes of Powderhouse, the surface snow is soft and unconsolidated. At 8000 ft, 6cm facets on top of crust. At 8200 ft, 8cm. Between 8200-9000 ft, 8-14 cm, depending on the sheltered nature of the location. Above 9000 ft near the ridge, facets decreased to about 4 cm. Beneath was a 6cm multilayered crust, a little like a neopolitan, then more facets underneath.