Saddle Peak

Loose dry avalanches ran on firm snow surfaces below the 4-6" of new snow. There were a few thin wind slab crowns on Between The Peaks. Cornice falls off the ridgline did not produce impressive slides below. Wind slabs were generally thin, less than 6", but drifts cracked easily under skis. Cracks did not propagate very far, but noteable given how thin and soft slabs were.

Winds increased later in the day and blew across slopes at middle elevations as well as at the main, upper elevations ridgelines. I expect wind slabs grew larger this afternoon, may continue to grow with more wind, and will remain reactive/possible for a person to trigger for at least another day or two.

Below the new snow was either firm wind/melt-freeze crusts, weak facets, or both. These layers might make wind slabs more reactive, and some drifts may remain unstable a little longer than usual.

We measured snow water equivalent (SWE) of the new snow around 7,500' and found 3-4" of snow equal to 0.25" of SWE.