White Pass Backcountry

We did our best to stick to the ridgelines and trees as we traveled through the backcountry behind White Pass, limiting our exposure to the DPS. Sun exposed slopes were baking and producing wet, loose activity and skied heavier while shaded aspects held cold, well-settled powder. Surface hoar was abundant, as were settlement cones around trees. As we were exiting in the afternoon, slopes that started to slip back into the shade had already formed a breakable surface crust.

I was able to trigger a very shallow wind skin on a leeward ridgeline highlighting the potential for lingering wind slabs.

There is roughly 4 feet of right-side up snow over the EFC. However, the 2/27 interface still produced failures in compression, tilt, and shear tests.

The EFC itself is rotting, and 1mm facets above it failed suddenly in all snowpack tests performed. In some cases, the block would "cash register" out into my lap. It has not shown signs of healing and may have been more concerning than what I observed near Crystal last week.