Quick report
Lots of new snow Very soft , but beginning to get more solid and dense, especially below 5500ft Not much wind at all, and not a lot of wind affects other than general thin spots on the ridges Large cornices on north/northeast aspects
Snowpack
Approached Checkerboard from the north ridge. Lots of cornices on that ridge and the summit ridge (pictured) overhanging north/northeast aspects. We saw a fairly large crown (approx. 50ft wide, 5ft deep, pictured) [forecaster note: may be glide crack reported earlier this winter]across Noisy Basin just North of Picnic Pass. We skied low angle snow on the northwest aspect and the west ridge back down to the road. Snow was great in sheltered areas, wind blown on the ridges, and we noticed no other signs of instability, collapsing, cracking, etc. where we were traveling.
Avalanche
Older crown North of Picnic Pass in Noisy Basin [forecaster note: may be glide crack reported earlier this winter] West aspect on steep slope (40-45 degrees) Looked to be about 50ft wide and around 5 feet or so deep but was hard to tell from that distance and not being able to see how old it was