Border Ruffian

Warm and cloudy afternoon, with better riding conditions than expected. Before the clouds increased, I could see reflective surfaces up to the summits of nearby peaks, indicating a high rain line.  I saw a large, natural avalanche on an east aspect of The Nipple likely from Jan 13th. So I went to a similar aspect and elevation (pin drop) for a snow profile. The snowpack was deep and strong, except at the bottom where it was weak and produced unstable test results. The Jan 2nd layer was hardly faceted anymore - instead the unstable results were on the facets below Dec 19th. This depth was consistent with the nearby avalanche.

The recent rain crust was soft instead of frozen, which made for better riding conditions than expected. I dug a profile and found the Jan 2nd layer unreactive, but the Dec 19th facets still produced unstable results.