Luther Pass

I went to Luther Pass and climbed the north ridge of Powderhouse. The east wind was cold in the trees, and there were signs of wind effect in open areas at lower elevations. As I climbed, the occasional gusts were strong but didn't feel extreme. I saw a few instances where powerful east wind gusts blew snow into the air on Powderhouse. Most of the blowing snow I observed appeared not to be landing. Looking towards Pyramid Peak and the Crystal Range I could see very impressive plumes of blowing snow as the east winds seemed to be pushing continuous plumes of snow towards the western slopes of those mountains.  These views of serious wind transport in Desolation were the most interesting thing I observed on my tour. Near the ridge on the north-facing slopes, I found mostly firm snow, but there were pockets of wind slab. As I descended I encountered several inches of soft snow over a firm base.