Powder (not powder) valley

<p>Skiied up into Powder Valley following the old mining road to alpine and continued to the small lake & glacier at the base (north) of Paddy Peak, below the couloirs. Continued up that small glacier to the notch/tiny saddle between the north ridgeline coming down from Paddy summit and the next peak to the North for great views of Bennett Lake. Snow on the glacier was variable and tricky to ski (hard consolidated areas interspersed with slightly softer but wind affected patches). Stayed on mellow terrain with only one short steeper pitch just below the notch which we treated cautiously. Alpine generally very wind affected (think hard & icy sastrugi) and very little snow, lots of whumpfing. Treeline (where the snow gets a bit deeper and better) is particularly touchy with several large shooting cracks and spooky settling even on lower angled terrain. Very good reminder to be especially cautious at treeline right now. Summary: powder valley not looking particularly powdery. Stick to mellow terrain and do snow dances while waiting for better conditions. </p>

Terrain Avoided

Steep slopes, Convex slopes, Open trees.

Avalanche Conditions

Whumpfing or drum-like sounds or shooting cracks.

Snow Conditions

Crusty, Hard, Wind affected, Powder.

Weather Conditions

Sunny.