Quick report
Toured virgina lakes area east of Mount Olsen. Found either soft snow or punchable wind board from 8000’ to 11000’. From parking, my party experienced trap door sage in areas the wind didn’t firm up to 9500’. Found degraded wind slabs on N and E aspect’s which appeared to be hardened by the winds from the NE the day prior. Temps were mid 20’s F at 8am rising to likely above freezing, mild winds 5-15 mph in the am and calming slightly in the pm, light snow available for transport as the warmer temps consolidated the soft snow making mildly sticky turns. Cloud cover was 50/50 am increasing until overcast then breaking up in the E to NE around 2pm. Soft skiing snow was found in sheltered areas BTL to NTL. ATL (10500-11000’) we found punchable wind board falling to the rocks. We were able to cause cracking in undercut windslabs, a mitt pit showed a planer fracture 40cm down with significant effort. Snow felt very stable all around on N and E aspects in terrain around 30 degrees, settlement cones on most trees. Kept it mild due to wind slab concerns, however skiing ATL was marginal and supported our decision for ski quality rather than avalanche safety.