3 Days at Steep Creek

Spent 3 days at Steep Creek. Monday we rode steep west-facing chutes with good cold snow over top of a highly-variable crust. Tuesday we rode steep glades in the eye of the storm, 100% blower. In the afternoon we found some reactive spots near windy ridgelines and set off one small avalanche at the top of a wind-loaded chute that propagated the width of said chute. Wednesday we found all east-facing terrain to be heavily wind scoured/pressed with amazing sistrugi at ridgeline. Heard one whoompf near a steep knoll when contemplating a traverse. In the afternoon strong solar on west facing slopes caused sloughing on steep terrain. All-in-all the conditions vary considerably from one aspect and elevation to the next. Steep start zones that receive strong solar during the day seem to be experiencing the poorest bonding between the new snow and their highly pronounced crusts.