Inner Basin Traverse including Rustler, The Cirque, Core Ridge
Weather
- Cloud Cover
- broken
- Wind Loading
- none
- Snow Avail For Transport
- small smounts
The only snow available for transport was on steep northern aspects. We saw small amounts of blowing snow, but most of it was blowing into the atmosphere.
Snowpack
In general, persistent slab on high elevation easterly aspect in Humphreys Cirque/Rustler Peak was the only possible problem we encountered today. Overall, the hazard felt low, with a single pocket of moderate on easterly slopes of Rustler peak above 11700. There was a surface m/f crust on most aspects and elevations today. Steep northern slopes above 11000' were the only exception, where soft powder snow made for fun carving.
There was little to no powder snow available for transport on most slopes. Steep, shady Northern slopes were the only slopes with snow available for transport. Today's S-SW winds could not find much snow to move, and when it did, it usually just blew it off the mountain. No wind slabs were encountered today.
Snowpack settlement was widespread.
Quick CT on a southwest aspect of Rustler peak near 11100, 29°: CT23 Q2 about 10-20cm down under solid supportable boot pack m/f crust.
Not a very smooth surface on the m/f. This should help to trap and bond the new snow predicted over the next 24 hours. Time will tell...
Crampons/ice axe would be helpful on these steep, firm slopes.
SE slope on Hardcore (HC) Ridge. 35.33589, -111.66986 at 11200': The 70cm snowpack was mostly a hard melt/freeze snowpack from top to bottom.
Snowpits from N and NW aspects of Hardcore (HC) Ridge are attached.