Mt Marsten

Besides whiteknuckling the luge course that is the spur road to the trailhead, we had a great visit to Mt. Marsten.

• There exists 3-4 inches of unconsolidated snow atop a very thin (<1 cm.) melt freeze crust from 12/22.  This snow is well bonded to the crust and only moved on very steep terrain.  Even then it was only able to run 10-15 feet.  
• What little surface hoar we did find on the surface was rimed and fairly beat up.  
• Wind has not been a player at this location.  We found little in the way of drifting snow, dunes or windslabs.
• The 12/7 crust was reactive in our stability tests at 7,300 ft.  We stumbled across a sweet spot of shallow snow, shaded aspect and steep terrain.  We felt numerous collapses which prompted us to dig and expose the weak layer.  The surface hoar/facet combo that plagued us in the  weeks prior was the culprit.  I assume this is one of the last vestiges and was an isolated bit of action.
• Boot pen is 30 cm with the skiing being great.  

We were skinning along the ridge by the lookout at 7,300 ft and felt several collapses. Upon digging we found the weak layer to be the surface hoar/facet combo below the 12/7 crust.

ECTX on south aspect.

ECTP8 and ECTP23 on North Aspect.

• The failure here occured in the facet/surface hoar layer beneath the 12/7 crust.