Couple steep lines NE off the Bumps

Nice spring outing up the Saddle Route. Cool in the morning, made for a sporty route up through the trees and over any exposed rock. We ended up boot packing to the top of the Saddle as the snow was firm and kicking in toe holds seemed easier than skinning. Once up at the Saddle we transitioned to skinning and contoured around the upper bench above Jewel Lake, zeroing in on the Hour Glass feature off the NE side of the Bumps. Boot crampons and an ice axes were a must for the ascent. The snow was firm and only a thin non reactive wind slab was evident. It warmed up slightly and the snow became just barely more rideable for our descent down the Hour Glass around ~noon. No sign of instability at all. Less than 45min up and down. With success on the first line, and the sun mostly hidden behind clouds, we went to the next steep saddle just south of the Hour Glass. Similar observations were noted. It wasn't until 2pm that the snow became noticeably more enjoyable to ride, and increasingly so as we were now on our decent back down the Saddle Route to the car. It would've been nice to stay out and enjoy the corn snow for a little but Mosaic and their 4pm gate does not allow. Anyway, get out there, the snow pack at Arrowsmith/Cokely is still plentiful up at elevation. The road up to the Saddle Route was clear, I believe this is the case all the way to the Cokely Rosseau Route too. Cheers