Maquilla the thrilla

Well-prepared for an epic pow day, we headed up the Nimpkish Main today with our sights set on a Maquilla session. We staged at 700m but access conditions were changing rapidly with 3-5 cm per hour snowfall all day. By 1200m we were in the thick of it, finding 20-30cm ski penetration which made our ascent manageable but a bit slow. As we approached ridgetop we began to feel the wind and noticed evidence of wind transport and wind slab formation, which increased steadily with elevation. It wasn't hard to push out shooting cracks or little wind/storm slab releases on micro steeps. After a nasty bushwack to avoid the avalanche slope on the summit pitch, we dug a snow profile at 1530m and found progressively dense storm snow layers topped by 24cm of brand new, low density snow, firming up just a bit before our first (1cm) melt freeze crust down about 40 cm. Our extended column test produced an easy, propagating shear down 24 cm and a moderate, non-propagating shear down 33 cm. We didn't get anything moving on either crust (the thick March 20 crust is down about 60 cm.) Yay! The descent in more sheltered, low angle trees was killer and face shots were continuous. Our skin tracks (and even sled tracks!) were completely filled by new snow and wind on our return trip - endless refills! March madness continues to deliver the goods!