Powder Valley update

Quick reconnaissance mission up Powder Valley access road (Paddy Peak area). Light snow all morning and clear in the afternoon with almost no wind. 10 cm of snow at parking, 20 cm at first creek crossing, and up to 55 cm at 1550 m elevation. We “skied” some mellow east-facing slopes to the north of the main Paddy summit. On these slopes we found ~10 cm of crusty snow (affected by temperature/wind) and on top of that anywhere from 5 – 45 cm of low-density powder. Lots of exposed rocks. Our best turns were on the way back down the road.