Recent wind-affect - 2cm wind slabs easy to pop out just off the ridge on south-facing terrain
Standard uptrack to the ridge to ~3300′ Skied some south-facing shots into Tenderfoot Creek.
Recent wind-affect - 2cm wind slabs easy to pop out just off the ridge on south-facing terrain
Mostly sunny, calm winds, strong temperature inversion
Sastrugi on the ridgetops, 2cm soft wind slab in leeward terrain extending down about 30-50 vertical feet on slopes. 2cm wind crust observed most of the way down slopes (not expected).
Hand pits on the uptrack revealed 8-10" new storm snow, stubborn to release on the recent BSH but clean shear. Formal pit dug in shallow area at higher elevation to assess reactivity of basal facets and slab characteristics of new wind-loaded and storm snow.
3,300', SW aspect, 25* slope
HS=70cm
ECTN19 Q3 65cm down on basal facets. Column crumbled and broke apart. New snow also crumbled, exhibiting no slab characteristics. Snowpack in pit looked horrendous but interestingly non-reactive.