Quick report
Day off tour.
- About 8-10 cm new snow overnight. Dry and loose.
- An eggshell rime crust formed this morning above ~6100 feet (it was on top of the new snow and only above that elevation). Less than 1 cm thick. It did not affect the skiing. It may inhibit blowing snow and wind slab formation.
- I saw limited evidence that winds have been moving snow. A few ripples a the top of easterly slopes, a few drifts on a Friday's uptrack, a few spots on a southwesterly slope below 5500 feet with a few inches of cakey snow at the surface. This cracked when undercut by a ski track.
- Entry and exit fees were hardly exorbitant, though we might have a different opinion had descended our uptrack. Snow depths increase quickly above about 4500 feet. At least the snow below that elevation is soft and easy turns. Regardless, the skiing was well worth the effort.
- We skied a few short pitches around 35 degrees with no signs of instability.
Weather
- Cloud Cover
- obscured
- Wind Loading
- light
- Recent Snowfall
- 8-10
- Snow Avail For Transport
- moderate amounts
Inversions in the AM which seemed to mix out mid-afternoon. Calm to light winds with a few gusts. Strongest winds were from the NE, right around when the inversion was mixing out. S-1 showers, with <2cm on the car windshield at the valley floor late afternoon.