Quick report
Left Bunny Flat at 8am under high overcast skies and temperature in the low 40s F. Snow below 8500' was only lightly refrozen (hardly at all under trees). Skies had mostly cleared by 930am and the S aspects at 8600' in Anaconda Gulch were starting to soften. Boot penetration in Anaconda Gulch was ~1", and one of our party was able to comfortably make the climb up the Gulch without putting on boot crampons. A ski crampon ascent (especially with a whippet) would have also been possible but we decided it would be more difficult and less secure than booting (with ice axe). At 12pm we skied into Hidden Valley via a short (~200' vertical) 30 deg N aspect (the furthest west on the slope before getting to an outcropping), which was still very firm and just edgeable enough to feel secure. Further east on the same slope there were some icy patches we were glad we avoided. By 1pm snow on S and SE aspects of the south ridge of Shastina had softened to about 0.5" ski penetration. The higher we climbed the less consolidated the upper snowpack became, including ~1" penitent-like features, though it was still soft/melted, and ski penetration increased to 1". We transitioned to bootpacking (crampons+ice axe) at 11,400' at the bottom of the Lightning Bolt Couloir at 2pm. In the couloir boot penetration varied from 0.5" (just crampon front points) to shin deep, but was typically about ankle deep. The snow seemed to consist mostly of partially consolidated corn in 1" penitent-like features on top of a deeper layer of highly consolidated almost-ice. Boots would penetrate through the upper layer until this ice layer, which gave good purchase for crampons. The top 100' of the couloir was somewhat firmer due to a light SW breeze (the only mentionable wind of the day). Transitioned at the top of the couloir and started skiing down at 3:20pm, just after a high overcast blew back in. This overcast stopped further softening of the snow surfaces (and also somewhat flattened the lighting conditions). The entrance to the couloir is a bit uneven and narrow, but below 11,800' the snow was excellent: soft, mostly smooth surface with 1-2" ski pentation, no signs of wet-loose instability. Below the couloir and into Hidden valley there was classic corn snow: fast, smooth, carveable. We exited Hidden Valley via the summer trail at 4pm, where sidehilling was made easy by the supportable corn snow conditions. We had to walk across a short (<50') section of dirt on the ridge west of Anaconda Gulch at 9000', but otherwise were able to stay on skis for the traverse between Hidden Valley and Horse Camp. Snow below 8500' was a bit sticky, but the cloud cover seemed to be keeping it in check. Returned to Bunny Flat at 4:40pm.