<p>Went up Crystal ridge (the northern part). Found faceted unconsolidated and unsupportive snow below treeline, made for tricky ascent when venturing off the old skin track. At treeline the new snow was promising for some good skiing, but degraded as I ascended further. A lot of recent wind effect in the alpine on the west aspect of crystal ridge. Some slabs more substantial than others, and some just surface slabs. I avoided steep rolls as I climbed further - and to gain a summit block at 2570m involved skinning up a steeper but supported SW feature, as I approached it to check the snow, a crack shot 10m across the slope, so my investigation ended there. I turned back and wrapped around to check the N approach and found it blown instead of loaded, so I continued upward. I met a group of 3 who experienced a wumpf not far from where I found cracking, and they opted to avoid that aspect while they continued higher. While at and just below the summit block, that party ventured on foot onto an isolated rib to look around, and remotely triggered a windslab slide on the SE aspect in steeper terrain at 2600m - starting on a convexity. They suspect it was size 2 but I personally could not see enough of it to make my own judgment. The crack shot at least 50m from the trigger point. The group invited me to join their descent which I was thankful for. We chose a northern chute that didn't have a steep roll, and the ski quality was good from there into treeline, where some sporty skiing began as we headed further into the forest. Coverage was generally good enough right to the road. In summary, the conditions found in the alpine on Crystal ridge except for N aspect did not align with the low rating in the forecast on this day, due to wind loading. </p>
Terrain Ridden
Alpine slopes, Dense trees, Open trees.
Terrain Avoided
Steep slopes, Convex slopes.
Avalanche Conditions
Slab avalanches today or yesterday.
Whumpfing or drum-like sounds or shooting cracks.
Snow Conditions
Crusty, Wind affected, Powder.
Weather Conditions
Cloudy.
Location:
51.69034000 -116.43129000
