Make hay when the sun shines Make MINs when the wind blows

Today we went sledding at Seaton Basin. The wind has effected both alpine and treeline slopes. At ridgecrest, many areas are stripped back to rock. There is evidence of wind from all directions with reverse and cross loading patterns. Today, winds were moderate to strong from the NW and were transporting remaining snow. We saw one older size 2 wind slab avalanche on a SE aspect at 1900m from steep rock bands, but otherwise no new avalanche activity. We dug on a SE aspect at 1700m and found 35cm of wind slab overlying older, softer snow. The slab failed easily during a Compression Test (CT) (CT E 3 RP down 35cm). We did not find any layers of note deeper in the snowpack. Total snow depth here was 200cm, but this is highly variable. The day was windy but warm, with an inversion producing 0 degree temps around 1500m.