Headed to upper Cardiff Fork today from BCC, didn't like the idea of dropping in from LCC due to wind loading and not knowing what happened during the storm. As soon as we hit the mine it was obvious that no one had ventured past it. I was expecting the trail breaking to be easier today due to wind and settlement but it was still a labor of love, the wind had created a density inversion in the pack and you'd take a step, not sink too deep then weight your ski and sink up to your knees. There wasn't much obvious avalanche activity anywhere in the drainage and the new snow was concealing any wind damage. I think that the terrain in upper Cardiff is mostly stable an there were no red flags noted. My thinking is that the depth of the snow in upper Cardiff and the lack of any weak layer has allowed us to turn the corner in that terrain and storm snow avalanches and wind slabs are the main concern. The only activity noted was sluffing on the rock slabs and they were not that impressive.

photos: sluffing and deep trail breaking

Thinking moderate today, if the wind blows like forecasted considerable tomorrow