Hatch Peak

I raced the daylight to the top of Hatch Peak this afternoon to catch the solstice sunset. Travel was fairly easy, but required switching from skis to boots several times. The spur ridge to the summit was scoured down to Sept/Oct decomposing rain and melt freeze crusts, which felt like styrofoam while kicking steps. April bowl offered chalky, and consistent skiing over inpenetrable old wind slabs. With some effort, I was able to break through the slab, exposing weak faceted snow below the surface. This was much easier to do in terrain butted up to "wind blocking" terrain features, like cliffs and outcroppings, where old wind slabs were thinner and more brittle. Here, the story is the same—weak faceted snow either to the ground or sandwiched between various generations of wind slabs. With this extended period of clear skies and cold temperatures, the thinner wind drifts have begun to break down, becoming soft and crumbly. The same can't be said for areas harboring thick, stiff, impenetrable drifts. While the surfaces facet, the slab itself feels as if it were just formed yesterday.