Smith !

We headed up Cummings Creek and into Smith Basin today. We saw no new avalanches, and while we did not see any “Signs Of Instability”, we did note that the cornices on the north-west, north, and north-east sides of ridges are pretty big and overhanging. Up at Treeline elevations, there was 7 cm of fresh snow over the supportive late-March Melt-Freeze Crust, with a full snow depth (HS) of 155 cm … not crazy deep, but good enough for this time of year. There was some snow transport on Alpine Ridges above us from SW wind, while it was only light in the sheltered basin itself. The sky was overcast in the morning, and broken (only a few blue bits) in the afternoon, which kept the sun’s heat in check. Our high temperature was -1 at 2200 m. Cummings Creek access is “late-season-hazards” …. on dirt out of the staging, then a thin snow / ice / rocky mix, then awesome cared-for trail (thanks @elkfordsnow !) from well before the ticket-booth.