We rode in Franklin Basin, southwest Idaho today and found some great riding. It was cold to start the day, -16 in the parking lot when we arrived and in the single digits when we returned. The snow rode great as long as you stayed away from the ridgelines and in more protected areas. The wind has done some major damage to those areas. Many trees were caked with rime however the snow surface did not seem to be affected by the rime.

We did not see any signs of recent avalanche activity however the snow is faceting with the cold temperatures and in shallow spots around rocks and brush, the snow is completely faceted and sugary. While standing on top of a ridge line around 9200 feet, the snowpack collapsed which supported our decision to stay on mellow terrain for the day.