Quick report
We had a glorious spring day to take advantage of a multisport adventure. We started on foot, swapped back and forth to skis and off again, and finally found good snow above 4000ft, where there was surprisingly good spring skiing. Surfaces were frozen in the morning and softened as the day progressed. There were 3-4 inches of new snow from 3/28 that was present above about 3500ft, which was consolidating and already moist and crusty in many areas.
Of particular note was a thin layer of near-surface facets and surface hoar on the surface of the new layer, which was impossible to identify without a scope. Any evidence of new slides was a few patches of small rollerballs that had likely run the previous days on steep slopes near rocks on south, east and west aspects. I also was able to trigger miniscule wet slides on micro-terrain features like tree wells, running 2-3 inches deep, which was the new snow layer. Minimal wind transport was visible or found underfoot.
Weather
- Cloud Cover
- scattered
- Wind Loading
- none
- Rain Elevation
- 2000
- Recent Snowfall
- 10
- Snow Avail For Transport
- small smounts
The day started below freezing, but it warmed up to a pleasant spring day with temperatures above freezing to over 4500ft. The day began with just a bit of cloud cover, then midday, skies were nearly overcast before sunny skies came back in the afternoon. The snow that fell on 3/28 to about 2000ft had melted out until about 3500ft where we traveled.
Snowpack
We first put on skis at 1800ft, but we transitioned about 4 times on our uphill journey to just under 5000ft. Snow surfaces were mainly frozen in the morning, but even then, we were still sinking a few inches deep- different from the early afternoon when we sunk on foot through thick, slushy layers to the ground from 3500ft and down- about where snow got patchy. Above 4000ft, snow cover was consistently smoother and supportable. Even midday, foot penetration was only a few inches on south and east-facing aspects.
Upon digging a pit, we found moist layers in the entire pit depth- about a meter, or 3 feet deep. No layers were significantly harder than others- it was easy to shovel out the moist, heavy snow. There was a supportable 10cm, or 4 inch crust beneath the new snow layer, which although still fairly soft, was the hardest layer we found in the entire pit. There was 5-10cm of new snow at the surface from 3/28. While skinning up, we found some patches of this snow that were almost dry. In other areas, the snow had already nearly become part of the underlying crust. There was a very thin layer of weak faceted and surface hoar grains on the surface that I found on east and northeast aspects.
Skiing was surprisingly pleasant down to 4000ft, with a combination of spring turns with occasional hot pow on the surface. We were able to trigger the most tiny, inconsequential avalanches in the new snow layer, with 2-3" miniature wet slides running in the new snow on very steep features.
While walking up in the morning, some areas were supportable, which made for reasonable footing, but where we broke through the crust it was very unpleasant. Upon return in the early afternoon, a more homogenous, moist, soft layer of snow was easier to walk through most of the time. But, when off skis, we most enjoyed the steep walking on dead ferns that had been packed down by snow; grip was surprisingly good. All in all, a grand spring adventure in the West Central zone.