Decided it was time to go check out the avalanche on the Diving Board and ski the flank of the slide. The slide released up in the rock bands 500 ft above the Diving Board apron which makes it vertical around 1500ft and 250ft wide at it widest part. Hard to tell if it was a actual glide avalanche or a hard slab from wind loading, not every avalanche that occurs in this area is a glide avalanche. When the slide went through the narrow choke it ripped out the apron to the ground leaving large chunks of ice scattered throuout the debris. The snow on the flanks was still a bit slabby but it had broken down enough to punch turns out. The combination of facets on the surface and a decomposing windslab resting on facets and light density snow is not a good combination for future loads, but this is just present on the part of the slope that didn’t slide, the bed surface of the slide is hard and rough and will not be all that suspect with a new load. Not very impressed with the snowpack structure in upper Broads, I’d be suspect of any slopes that did not slide in the last storm, it’s thin and weak. The wind was moving snow and creating spin drifts in the rock bands, throughout the day.

photos: the avalanche, chunks of ice as big as the blocks you buy for your cooler scattered throughout the debris, punchy turns on the flank of the avalanche, more glide cracks and a video of spindrifts caused by the wind in the rock slabs

With continued wind and more snow I would go with moderate tomorrow