High alpine loop

As this extended spell of high pressure draws to an end, we set out today with the goal to see as much terrain as we could. Using sleds & skis we completed a high alpine loop traveling across a range of aspects including a low angle north facing glacier, steeper south-east slopes & a shady north facing run to finish. The day started warm with temperatures approaching 0 by noon & a light breeze out of the south west. Snow surfaces on the glacier varied from wind board, waves of large sastrugi & 20cm of surface facets which skiied quite well. As we topped out on a 2000m summit we found pockets of 20mm surface hoar. Whilst isolated we will be looking for this layer in steep start zones if it gets buried by significant snow this weekend. No cornice fall was observed and although solar aspects warmed more than yesterday, we saw no sign of loose wet avalanche problems. Our final run involved careful managment of a large convexity mid-slope and offered good turns in shaded facets with some sloughing on steep rolls. A great day for fast travel and views for miles.