Owl Creek

On an exploratory tour out Owl Creek, we experienced numerous signs of instability. We experienced fairly widespread cracking and collapsing, however both seemed to occur in rocky or thinner areas where we were more easily able to affect the weak layer in the bottom half of the snowpack. As we gained elevation, I dug several hand pits and found a lot of spatial variability. Between about 8000'-8800' I found a distinct crust about 6" down. This crust appeared to be unsupportable in most areas. Below the crust I observed varying sizes of facets that went all the way to the ground, while above the crust consisted of rounds and decomposing fragments. The morning started with winter temps in the high teens, but around 1100 we noticed it started to get very hot. As we continued walking uphill, we observed warm, sticky snow that glopped on our skins and clumped on our poles. As this was an exploratory mission and with the many signs of instability we experienced, we opted to ski back down the ridge. Skiing down around 1245 we experienced hot sticky snow in any areas that were exposed to the sun, where snow in the trees still remained mostly cold at this time. I also observed some roller balls and increased cohesion or slab properties in the snowpack that wanted to move downhill with any increased stress. Overall, I observed a spatially variable and unstable snowpack that worsened throughout the morning with climbing temps.