Montana Bowl: calm and stable

Route: Afternoon tour of Montana Bowl. Uptrack from Stoke Lift, partial ascent of Mackenzie via SE ridge, traverse along ridge towards Goat Peak; then descent along the mellow bowl and then steeper trees to the lower traverse back to in bounds at Fast Freds. Descent: In Alpine; largely skied ~20' slopes; with some pitches of ~35' coming off Mackenzie and then into Montana bowl. Treeline and below treeline included pitches from 10' to 35'. All on S or SE aspects. Snowpack: Minimal signs of instability throughout the day on a variety of descent angles across Alpine, Treeline, and Below Treeline. No cracks or whumpfs; no slabs (either self-triggered or observed above us). The first layer in the snow we could feel was on average approx 50-60cm deep (based on a pole test; no pits dug). Skiing conditions: generally very good. Deep and consistent snow as you would expect post-storm, albeit a little heavy. Minimal wind affect in Montana Bowl, but significant wind scouring on Mackenzie Southern aspect. Weather: generally calm conditions. Some light blowing snow observed on Mackenzie and Goat Peak, but nothing on the ridge into Highway Bowl. Very sunny, with minimal cloud cover throughout the day.

Clear day with only light blowing snow observed on Mackenzie > Goat Peak ridge line. Mackenzie S slopes heavily wind affected with a hard crust. Remainder of Montana Bowl showed minimal snow transfer via wind.