Quick report
Skied one of the NE couloirs off Gilcrest today, and found wind affected snow everywhere, but mostly pleasant skiing. The entire couloir was wind pressed, and consisted of wind board over cold snow that was beginning to facet. The wind board ranged in thickness from 2-6”, and occasionally broke off in small plates around my skis, but usually only when undercut, and never bigger than about a foot or two wide. It also varied widely in supportability, with some places having no boot penetration at all and making for great cramponing, and others being punchy even when on skis, both ascending and descending. In many places, the surface was beginning to facet as well, making the downhill more pleasant, but this process was not very far along at all. The feature stayed in the shade all day, and it felt a bit chilly in there. Morning temps at the car were in the mid 20s, but in the low 40s when I returned in the early afternoon. There were some brief periods of wind (both up and down the couloir) with small amounts of wind transport, but mostly a calm day. Overall, coverage is thin, but conditions were decent.