Skook Peak

Quick trip up Skook Peak and Radio Tower to check out slopes in the ~ west quadrant of the compass. 

• 3-5 cm of snow on the 1/23 surface. This surface shows up in tests, but does not propagate and produced a sudden result only once. 
• The 1/23 surface is a ~3-5 cm thick melt freeze crust that makes for grabby riding on the S-W aspects we skied. That crust did not appear on the low angle NW slopes we skinned up. 
• In a profile @ 6350 on a northwest slope, the JDL did not include buried surface hoar, or the surface hoar that was present had metamorphosed away. Most tests did not produce alarming results (ECTN, ECTX); we had one sudden result in a deep tap test (DTM SP). 
• The 2/14 PWL was faint or non existent in that profile, and another at 6725' SSW in a small pocket of what appeared to be undisturbed snow on Radio Tower. 
  There was some stiff, drifted snow on/ near the westerly ridge leading up Skook Peak. It did not crack underfoot or have slab characteristics. The cornices on the back of Skook Peak are large and old; there didn't appear to be much fresh cornice build up.

Our short tour and narrow terrain window was enough to confirm that the JDL is variable on these aspects in this location, not that it's dormant. 

Profile 6350 NW: 

• HS 200 cm, JDL @ ~140 from ground. F->1F slab above with thin ice lens 10 cm above JDL. No apparent surface hoar in JDL; small facets and clumped rounds.
• ECTN 30, ECTX on JDL. No results w deep ECT; DT ~20 SP
• 2/14 subtle and produced ECTN and CT RP failures.
• 2/23 snow surface down ~5 cm; various CTE RP and ECTN E with CTE SP. 

Profile 6725 SSW (Radio Tower):

• HS 140 cm. ~ 40 cm of snow over 12 cm thick MF layer (2/13 surface). ECTX on this interface; no other layers of note above.