Ten Mile, GMNP

<p>Skied Hall Pass (north facing) twice as well as a south facing gully (pictured). The north facing runs were nice, cold powder with no signs of instability. There was a bit of a crust that was variable in its depth but generally about 20cm down. Multiple hand-shear tests showed good bonding between crust and new snow (could not produce clean, planar break along interface). Although there was a lot of sun, north aspects stayed cool and shady and received no temperature affect. The run on the south aspect was a different story, as the sun packed enough of a punch to moisten the snow, resulting in some snowballing and minor sluffing of the adjacent cliffs. As a result we chose to group up into the last available safe spot instead of continuing into large overhead hazard terrain. We quickly skied the lower pitch one at a time and returned to the north aspect. Overall, the snow has recovered nicely since the last warm up and ski quality was good to excellent, although sunny aspects definitely warmed up and will probably be crusty again. Shaded aspects maintained cool, dry snow all day. Cornices are continuing to build and so are becoming more and more of a concern as we move into sunny days. </p>

Terrain Ridden

Mellow slopes, Steep slopes, Sunny slopes, Open trees.

Avalanche Conditions

Rapid temperature rise to near zero degrees or wet surface snow.

Snow Conditions

Powder.

Weather Conditions

Cold, Sunny.