Crags East

<p>Snowpack off the east of Crags seemed fairly stable. We observed no signs of instability, no signs of recent avalanche. We cut off a small cornice (3-4 cubic meters) to test the slope off the top of Crags. No reaction. Tried ski cutting and jumping on potential trigger points, again with no reactions. We did some quick and dirty shear shovel tests at various altitudes and aspects on our way up (S & 1850m, SE & 1950m, E & 2050m). We found 15-20cm of powder well bonded to a 10cm slab sitting atop a very thin hoar layer and more consolidated snow quite a ways down, pretty much everywhere. Although the slab produced a clean shear on the 30cm layer, it did not seem to want to propagate, probably because it is very thin weak layer. W->E wind transport seemed reasonable. Accordingly, we let her rip on the east side of Crags on some relatively steep terrain, but did stay away from convex rolls out of respect for the 30cm layer...and whatever lurks beneath. The Southwest side of Crags seemed wind-slabbed and unwelcoming. We also skied the SE and NW sides of Baldy Rocks, again observing no signs of instability.</p>

Terrain Ridden

Steep slopes, Open trees.

Terrain Avoided

Convex slopes.

Snow Conditions

Powder.

Weather Conditions

Cold, Sunny.