Glacier Creek

I came to hunt for avalanches and instabilities but I didn't find either. Granted, I wasn't traveling in avalanche terrain and didn't see much steep terrain except for distant paths at the end of my ride as skies cleared. 

I found about a foot of right side up, low density new powder, with about 8 inches of snow from last week's storm over the 12/7 crust. In multiple pits, 4800-5000ft, the only pit test results I got were resistant planar moderate compression tests failing about a foot down on the new/old interface. Shovel tilt tests failed in the same location. Extended column tests failed with the same number of taps but did not propagate. I hunted for any signs of surface hoar or near surface facets in the old snow layer just under the interface. I mainly found decomposing forms with very few angular structures (faceted snow). You could, however, feel the difference between the fluffy new snow (graupel mixed in as well) and the slightly more granular-feeling old snow layer. 

I couldn't see any wind-effect in the new snow and I didn't find any thicker new drifts, although I was only in the lower half of the mid elevation band. As the skies cleared and I got some views I saw obvious wind texture at higher elevations and snow stripped terrain near ridgelines. I didn't see any natural avalanches in those areas. I did see what looked like avalanche debris in gullies coming off Church Ridge, possibly from the previous day.