Observation: Cutler Ridge

Got out during the intial stages of this storm system, mid-morning thru early afternoon. Strong winds from the W-SW were transporting snow up higher along the cutler and ben lomond ridgelines. We turned around shortly after reaching the skyline trail junction at about 8700' due to poor visibility and being exposed to full-on nautical conditions. Snowfall rates and transport had quickly refilled our uptrack. New snow and wind transport were the main red flags for us today. Didn't see or experience any significant signs of instability, other than minor cracking on steeper sections where deeper/denser new snow drifts had formed. Overall, the new snow had come in right side up, was fairly dense, and seemed to be bonding well to existing surfaces. Facets at the ground were in the back of our minds, but we didn't dig down to the ground to confirm.