Quick report
Our party entered tucks at about 9am facing strong west winds and dramatic blowing snow. We noted and inch or two of new snowfall throughout the hike, and as we entered the bowl with we saw significant plumes of new snow blowing over the ridge tops. Visibility was sporadic with extremely fast moving clouds. We decided to avoid primarily east facing slopes as they seemed to be loading with the ridge top winds and chose to ascend the more southern facing slope between lobster claw and right gully, which offered some shelter from the wind and inspired us to check right gully for stable snow. Throughout the approach and ascent, we saw new snow accumulated in soft slabs 2-6 inches deep. We conducted several hand shear tests as we ascended right gully and found 2-6 inches of soft storm slab over 8-12 inches of dense wind slab. This wind slab was extremely stubborn to handshears and when it finally broke, the surface of the break was very irregular / non-planar. Testing throughout the ascent continued to increase our confidence in the snow stability. We did note a significant change in the characteristic of the windslab at the top of right gully where the aspect shifts more east. The surface windslab was more consolidated and cohesive, and created enough slough to push a skier’s feet. We also noted significant sun warming the southern aspects as the morning clouds cleared and winds dissipated Overall we felt that right gully offered very manageable conditions. The skiing was fabulous.