Widespread wind drifts along lee ridge lines, although I was not yet finding wind drifted snow off of ridges. Wind drifts were mostly 4F hardness and between 30-45 cms (1-1.5'), although some deeper drifts were approaching 60 cms. Sensitive cornice formation as well. Fresh wind drifts were quite sensitive on test slopes, and cornices were easily provoked. Was finding wind drifts to fail at interface of lighter density snow from earlier this week, but with a poor snowpack structure, in open, steeper terrain I could imagine triggering a wind drifted slab could result in stepping down to persistent weaknesses deeper in the snowpack. With continued wind expected, easy to identify an increasing danger trendline.

Was finding similar snowpack structure this morning in Green's that I was finding Thursday morning in Mineral Fork. Down about 50-75 cms (18"-30") I am finding two rain crusts forming a facet sandwich, with weak faceted snow below the lower crust. On at least 6 test slopes at a variety of elevations between 8500' and 9500' I was unable to isolate a column (CTV) with failures occurring in the faceted snow between the crusts or below the lower crust. On a lower-angled slope at 9200', my partner Mark Johnston (first descent artist of the necky and hard-to-find Johnston Couloir) was getting CT scores ~5 at a density inversion about 20 cms down, and CT 11 Q1/SC in the facet crust down 60 cms. With more snow and wind in the forecast, expect increasing hazard.