Observation: Turnagain

Heavy traffic today at Sunburst. The parking lot was very full and at times 15+ people closely spaced on the uptrack. Group management and patience was critical to keep from skiing directly above others.

Six members of Anchorage Nordic Ski Patrol accessed Sunburst using the common uptrack. Shallow frozen snow in the lower elevations and exposed alders has confined skiers to a common up/down route. Much of the lower-elevation skin track has been scraped out by skiers side slipping down the steeper sections. Go slow on the decent. Good skiing was found above treelike. Most people were skiing the old bed surface of the recent avalanche. Surface hoar was common up to the ridge line and an obvious crust was noticed about 12″-18″ deep in several quick hand pits.