White River Canyon

The White River Canyon has caught enough sun and warming that most slopes are now undergoing a melt-freeze cycle at upper elevations with this high pressure. While the snowpack felt wet and unsupportable at times, we struggled to push much wet snow on steep, sun exposed aspects by late morning. This may have been a different story at 2 PM. Today was also a good reminder that timing and the proper sharps gear are critical during warm, high-pressure periods. While the majority of the surfaces were soft, we still managed to find firm, icy areas in previously scoured areas. 

Some minor wet loose instabilites existed under rocks and cliffbands. We were a little early to find wet snow instabilities on steep slopes. Ski cuts didn't push much steep snow on steep E aspects around 1130 AM.

We're entering a melt-freeze cycle on solar aspects at upper elevations in White River Canyon. Most aspects in the canyon have caught the sun by this point, making the surface wet on most slopes. We haven't seen a fully clear night yet, so the surfaces felt a bit sloppy by late morning. Boot penetrations ranged from 5-10 cm with recently scoured features providing more supportable travel. While there were a few rollerballs in the typical locations, we didn't spot any wet loose avalanches or trigger any with ski cuts. If we did this tour a few hours later, maybe we could have.

The White is looking dirty after recent high winds. There is a thin layer of dust coating some slopes and features.