Flatiron sunshine

Technical difficulties stopped us before the Needle/flatiron junction, so we rode the ridgline uptrack back down. Windloading from the SE was obvious, with signs of avalanches on the steep north aspects, and the east side of the ridge was filled in, so the steep rollovers into that bowl looked slabby. 20 cm of light powder in the trees along the ridge made for excellent riding, but you definitely hit the widespread crust on hard turns. From multiple hand pits, stomping on small east and north facing convex rolls, and riding, the snow seemed well bonded to the crust. The steep section at the bottom, between about 1200 and 1400 had a thin layer of light powder over icy crust making the skin up technical and the ride down bumpy, sharky, and solid.