Bear in the Garbage

We skied a northeast-facing couloir feature. The approach followed a south-facing treeline gully/valley up to the ridgeline, where crusty, sun-affected and melt–freeze surfaces were present. Travel was slow and challenging in these conditions; however, snow on the sheltered northeast aspect remained well preserved and soft. Signs of existing avalanche activity (size 1–2) were observed on south- and west-facing approach slopes, likely from the previous warm-up cycle (~1 week ago). No evidence of new avalanche activity was noted.