SNOWNADO!

<p>Wind was the name of the game....holly heck did it blow. The open treeline and alpine areas are smammered by the nw-n-ne winds. Sustained moderate to strong winds in windward aspects all day and ridgetop winds would almost blow you off of your sled. Moving through an alpine feature, we suspect we remote triggered a size 2 windslab while traveling 100m away (below the feature) on a bench below the steep NE facing aspect. 80m wide and ran for about the same with a max estimated crown of 25cms. The open alpine terrain has no fun factor what so ever due to the wind affect. Thick slabs, soft pockets and the abundant rock hard wind waves made the suck factor super high in the wind exposed alpine terrain. We searched for sheltered treeline terrain (where the SPAW is issued...) and did notice shooting cracks, and small slabs on the side of short steep convexities released about 25cms down but nothing big and the riding here was very good. We chose to avoid any exposure to larger features or terrain traps and treeline and enjoyed the day on the mountain. Ride safe</p>

Terrain Ridden

Alpine slopes, Mellow slopes, Convex slopes, Open trees.

Terrain Avoided

Steep slopes.

Avalanche Conditions

30cm + of new snow, or significant drifting, or rain in the last 48 hours.

Slab avalanches today or yesterday.

Whumpfing or drum-like sounds or shooting cracks.

Snow Conditions

Wind affected, Powder.

Weather Conditions

Cold, Windy, Cloudy, Sunny.