Quick report
Took advantage of the good stability, settled weather, and longer days to make an afternoon lap out to Government Peak. I left the Marmot Lot at 3pm and climbed back into the Valley of Sin, with firm conditions and easy travel I was on top of Halibut Tail just after 4 pm and starting my descent from Government Peak by 5 pm. On the way, I encountered a mostly firm, winded landscape. Wind effect throughout the tour was noticeably more severe than farther north in the forecast area. Surfaces included firm windboard, faceted sastrugi, and the occasional ice layer or wind slab-breakable crust. The best conditions were found below about 2500' on Blueberry Knoll, where limited wind effect and faceting had kept surfaces soft and consistent.
Despite the less-than-ideal surfaces, travel was supportable, quick, and not always unpleasant. Surface wind slabs were unreactive, and everywhere I dug, or pole probed, the snowpack appeared to have substantial body and depth to bridge any deeper buried weak layers.
No instabilities observed.
Weather
- Air Temp
- 5-6
- Cloud Cover
- clear
- Snow Avail For Transport
- none
Cold, clear, and calm for the most part. The sun helped keep me warm, but on ridgelines, even the light easterly was enough to remind you to keep skin covered.
Snowpack
Only dug a couple of hasty pits today, both on the steep, upper elevation westerly facing slopes of Government Peak. It was there I found thin cover with a deep layer of chained depth hoar and loose facets near the ground. Even here, the thin (30-50cm) mid-pack was stiff enough to successfully bridge this layer.