Tilly Jane

I found a strong upper snowpack and excellent ski quality on shaded aspects. Loose snow avalanches are still a thing and the type is very aspect dependent. Low wind speeds and minimal fresh loading are likely helping wind slabs gain strength. 

Today I traveled into the Tilly Jane area and was pleasantly surprised to find a much deeper snowpack since my last visit less than 2 weeks ago. New snow amounts gradually increased as I gained elevation. Once at the cabin above 5500 ft, travel was deep. 

Overall, I found the new snow settling out nicely. The upper snowpack has a favorable, right-side-up structure with a couple of thin crusts from late February in the upper 3 ft. In a test profile at 6300 ft, NE aspect I found a HS of 410 cm the EFC sitting 215 cm below the surface! Snowpack tests produced unremarkable tests on upper snowpack layers.  Due to depth/time I couldn't complete any tests on the EFC.

Wind-affected snow became more evident once I crested above treeline on the Triangle Moraine around 6400'. However, the few fresh inches from the previous night helped blanket and soften up these variable surfaces. 

By noon, solar aspects started heating up. I even observed one small wet loose on a steep south aspect directly under a cliff. Evidence of dry loose activity was also prominent on northerly aspects of the Cooper Spur and Eliat Glacier Headwall.