Quick report
- Aspect
- North
- Red Flags
- Poor Snowpack Structure
- Elevation
- 2987 m
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Poor structure and getting poorer. The weather models have been inconsistent, but not seeing much of an active pattern. </p>
Snow on the northwest through easterly facing aspects will continue to facet and weaken with continued clear, calm, and cold weather. Solar aspects will likely melt off.
This basal crust exists at and above - rough guess - 9500' or so - remnant snow possibly from the mid-October 17/18 storm. The crust became spotty and then non-existent at 9200' and below. Not surprisingly, weak cold facets were the rule and not the exception. Could be another tricky early season; we'll see.
Snowpack
We were able to ski from Guardsman Pass to the PC Ridgeline without taking our skis off. I imagine that one will have to carry skis over melted out zones over the weekend.
We found soft turns in the weakening snow surfaces (entire pack, actually) on polar aspects although the thin coverage (12-16") on the shady aspects is enough to keep you honest. Sunny aspects are damp.