Cold snow and sunny skies were encountered throughout our travels today. The few inches received over the weekend, along with a little help from a northwest breeze gave a decent refresh in most areas above 9,500', though old tracks were still felt and dealt with.
The light density snow that fell this past weekend in cooperation with cold temperatures and clear nights this week has seriously weakened the snow surface, which is now turning into sugary facets.
Out of the windzone and in the trees, the riding is top-notch with a good supportable base and cold fresh topper. The main hazard as Craig mentioned this morning is wind drifted snow. We observed a natural avalanche that broke 4-6" deep and 30' wide or so, running through a cliff band onto the apron below -- You can check that out, here.
Below, you can see the recent wind drifted snow sitting on top of the old, faceted snow surface. This was where we noticed todays avalanches failing on ridges and exposed ridgelines. Easy to manage, and even easier to avoid!
Snow profile is from a North-facing slope at 10,200 feet. This profile shows a right-side up snowpack for the top ~2 feet (60 cm). A thin crust from the Christmas Rain Event with weak snow below.
