9mile

1st tour of 2023! With the shallow snowpack, overall "spooky" alpine snowpack condition (where it hasn't already been slid). Cornices are a fair size for this time of year. Windslab forming on top of the burried cold snap surfaces is a concern to watch out for, especially in lee pockets on exposed/complex alpine terrain. Signs of recent past significant avalanche cycle that likely slid during the last x-mas storm cycle (Size 2-2.5, 90% of full runout). It also looks like it slid very wet and heavy, carving deep channels within the slid path. While on supported terrain, we also managed to whump the instability while skinning on wind-affected snow. Hopefully this buried instability will eventually heal with time in the rest of the season... or a really warm and wet event will come to reset it all out. Otherwise, take it easy out there!