Observation: Butler Basin

Butler, climbing toward Mill Creek.BCC ridge. 9200', 140° (SE), 28° slope, HS 130. Plenty of crusts to go around; surprised to get propagation under a 3cm crust (presumably melt since no counterpart on NE aspects nearby?) on ECT, but this result wasn't repeated. A pit at 9500 N aspect in Butler basin had no propagation on ECT, although CTM/H and ECTN around 50 cm down on a thin layer of small facets.

Poor sluff management by local biota

1 to 2' deep crowns in upper Alexander from Wednesday night/Thursday...most triggered by sluffs cascading down and over cliff bands from above.

Dusk patrol powder turns

Marvelous skiing on feathery crystals, particularly at lower angles and in more protected terrain. Best skiing yet, really. Wind from mid storm made for crusts several inches below the powder up near ridglines and along midslope shoulders; its patterning was even visible in some valley bottoms. By later afternoon on steeper SE through S aspects a thin zipper crust was evident 1.5 cm below the unaffected particles on the surface. Energy from direct sun was easily dissipated at the surface, but under the thin blanket led to dampening snow.

Lots of loose sluffs to be seen, particularly but not exclusively under rock bands. A couple crowns visible in upper Alexander, not sure whether they failed within the new snow, at the suspect interface from late December facets and surface hoar, or elsewhere. Still, the snowpack seemed basically stable.