Quick report
Approach trail up Pole was hanging on.
Weather
- Air Temp
- 35
- Cloud Cover
- few
- Wind Loading
- previous
- Rain Elevation
- 10000
- Snow Avail For Transport
- none
Snowpack
We observed shiny surfaces from Palisade Peak to Pole Canyon. The ice crust was breakable over ~30cm settling, moist powder over a more supportable older snow. The ice crust effectively locked up almost all available snow with only a few minor ridgetop plumes to confirm the strong winds. No wind slabs in view here due the the extent of the ice crust. We dug on a NNE facing slope at 8600' and found stubborn but unstable results on the January drought layer, in this case a layer of 1-2mm dry facets.