Oboe Drainage

Travelled from 1400-2000m elevation today..wide and often dramatic variability in snowpack. Mfcr on all asp to about 1630m, sometimes supportive other times cracking under skis. Dense trees extremely challenging with tree bomb craters, avy debris, windfall, and breakable crust from 1630m down. Remarkable transition above 1630m with up to knee deep trailbreaking and poles sometimes dropping deep into lower density snow below surface layers. At times thick windpress near surface from 7-30cm thick and slightly rimed on top with a skiff of new. Downslope winds have spread this windpress over vast areas. In hand sheers and comoression tests this reacts very easily as a 1F density slab over 4F to F density below. However this layer did not seem easily triggered although steeper convexities were avoided. No signs of recent naturals in area and very few tourers. Significant cornice growth in ridgetop areas and widespread and massive wind deposits with winds from E through S to Sw. Current winds mod/strong at ridgetop from S with ground blizzard at times. Temps cool. Avies in controlled rec area nearby ran large and long...seems like a low likelihood/high consequence scenario in backcountry alp and TL.