Quick report
Today we took a long dirt walk with some light to moderate bushwacking through blowdown, followed by a lovely oversnow meander out to the southwest ramp of Great Northern.
- A solid overnight refreeze of the snow surface at all elevations provided a firm and supportable surface for skinning, and booting.
- Above 7000', surfaces were slow to soften. Wind speeds increased significantly with elevation which helped to keep the surface cool. We were downright cold on the summit at 2pm while we waited for the snow to soften.
- By the mid-afternoon, the corn was delightful on most solar aspects, from about 8200 ft down to about 5800 ft. From the summit of Northern down to about 8200ft, the snow was edgeable, but still a bit too firm for a proper harvest. Regardless of how much loose corn snow there was, the crust below was ski supportable all day.
- We observed no signs of instability. A widespread wet loose cycle was evident from last weekend's warmup. Every west, southwest, south, and southeast face and runout was littered with debris, with the notable exception of the southwest ramp, which was smooth and flawless, without a single sign of wet activity. We presume the lack of exposed rocks and the planar slope shape may have played a role here.
Weather
- Air Temp
- Warm until 8000' on Great Northern, then cold and windy
- Cloud Cover
- few
- Snow Avail For Transport
- none
A clear day with just a few passing clouds. Cool in the morning at 8AM. Temps warmed significantly during the day. Winds were almost non-existent until we ascended the southwest face of Great Northern. Near and above 7500' the winds ramped up, with sustained speeds well into the 20s at the summit.
Avalanche
Every solar face on Great Northern, save the southwest panel had widespread wet loose activity from last weekend's warmup, up to size 1.5/2. Avalanches will be cataloged on 4/10.