Quick report
- No signs of instability noted - Weather: hot, clear skies, calm to light winds - Snow: coverage from 395 into the McGee creek drainage was continuous but thin, and travel on the road was easy. Surface conditions on the E Face of Mt. Aggie consisted of a superficial melt/freeze crust that supported our weight on skis in the lowest portion of the line. At 9800ft we transitioned to booting, and on the surface found a mix of hard wind board on the climber’s left, and very three-dimensional “coral reef” on climber’s right. The snowpack was very faceted, resulting in boot penetration to waist deep in spots, sometimes to the ground. On top of the wind board in other spots only the front crampon points penetrated the snow. At 10,500ft the snow was 1m deep in the middle of the chute we were in. Near the top, snow depth was probably about half that, and there was bare ground in spots. The wind board was hardly edge-able on the way down, while ski penetration in the coral reef was significant enough to make turning through it a challenge. At 9800ft our line turned from facing due east to more southeast at the same time that the slope angle mellowed. Ski quality increased immensely - we stayed on top rather than sinking in deep, and had fun pushing the soft cream corn around.