St Mary

This was a walk in the storm, it's happening up in the Bitterroot! I found over 2 feet of new/recent snow on top of the crusts left behind from our 3/7-3/8 heat wave. Rain lines have been lower than expected (what a gift!), I was able to "easily" ski down to 5,500' on dense, wet snow that fell on bare ground. 

Snowpack tests in moderately sheltered terrain near the middle elevation/upper elevation boundary pointed at instabilities within a few layers of the storm snow. I had repeated ECTPs in the teens down 14-18" on layers of graupel. In windy terrain the new snow felt a bit top-heavy, but skiing was good in both windy and sheltered terrain. Fast, surfy, creamy - bring your fat skis.

I stomped along some wind-loaded ridgelines and dropped some cornices on the slopes below, which produced no avalanches.

I avoided all avalanche terrain. 

Minor cracking and subtle collapsing within the new snow.

Rough snow totals above the 3/8 heat crust by sunset:

5,000'  -  3-5"
5,500'  -  8-10"
6,000'  -  11-13"
6,500'  -  14-16"
7,000'  -  17-19"
7,500'  -  24-28"

Too much wind above 7,500' to get a good sense for the amount of new snow.