Okay surprise

Really cool area—100% worth the hike. The ride down, though, wasn’t anything special. Snow in the valley was fluffy and light, so I was pretty excited going in. The top of the saddle was wind-affected and a bit skied out, but conditions gradually improved as I descended, turning into surfy, heavier snow. I did a quick informal ski pole column test on the way up, and the top of the snowpack seemed very stable overall. That said, side-hilling on steeper (~40°) slopes felt a bit more reactive.