Quick report
We did not observe any obvious signs of instability, and we traveled in a lot of terrain with no signs of previous traffic. We generally avoided avalanche terrain, but we skied some partially treed slopes just over 30* where little to no slab (stiffer layers) existed.
No collapsing or cracking observed.Weather
- Air Temp
- 7F in the valley in AM, mid-20s F up high
- Cloud Cover
- few
- Wind Loading
- previous
- Rain Elevation
- N/A
- Recent Snowfall
- 0
- Snow Avail For Transport
- small smounts
Light S winds. Skies were clear AM, became PC afternoon (more clouds to the north). Previous wind loading refers to many days ago, isolated to ridgelines and just below.
Snowpack
No formal profiles - just hand and pole pits. For this area, the cornice and wind features on upper elevation peaks and exposed ridgelines were strangely small. Isolated, minor previous wind-loading 8700-9100'. Little to no evidence of previous wind-loading below 8700'.
Snowdepths: 30cm @7600', 40-50cm @8000', 60-90cm around 9000'.
8000-8500': Still some 1F snow in the slab on shady aspects, but slab has faceted a lot. 8200-8400' W (270-280*)=HS40cm, all FC except 1cm surface crust and 1cm faceting/degrading midpack crust.
9000' N: HS=85-90cm. Some 2-5mm SH laying down on surface, then10-15cm DF. Then 10-15cm FC above a 0.5-1cm ice crust (crust is 25-30cm down). Nice layer of FC below the crust, then 25-30cm generally rounds/mixed forms with slab retaining strength (significant 4F>>1F layer). Bottom 30cm is 11/30 layer - FC/DH/crusty mess.