1. Basal Facets: Near treeline and below, these facets seem mostly dormant for the time being. Many slopes below treeline are completely faceted through. We observed some very weak snow, and sand box type conditions on below treeline northerlies today. On some slopes near treeline, there is still some body mid-pack (the Thanksgiving storm). The Thanksgiving storm dropped 18" inches of snow and 3.7" of SWE. The facets at the base of the pack have had plenty of time to adjust to this load, and have not been active for some time. Above treeline slopes are heavily scoured on all aspects and the slabs and weak layers are not well connected across this terrain. Areas that are not heavily scoured have been drifted in and are 140-180 cm. deep. The facets in these deeper areas have gained strength and are 4F+ hardness. It seems unlikely to trigger an avalanche above treeline right now. The chances for a full-depth avalanche are low. While it seems unlikely, suspect areas remain the most extreme terrain. While I feel good about traveling above treeline, I am still going to avoid steep, convex, shallow rocky areas to give myself the best margin of safety. If I am peak bagging during the clear weather this week, I will be shooting for areas with a deep snowpack.
The pit below is north facing at 11,540 ft.
2. The 12/25 Weak Layer: I still have some concern over the weak layer that was buried on 12/25. It has been a while since we have seen results on this layer in our stability tests, but these types of instabilities tend to linger for a long time. You really need to find the perfect slab/weak layer combo to find the instability. The problem is most pronounced near the treeline in areas where the wind has created an overlying slab. The slab needs to be just the right thickness and hardness. Too hard and the layer won't react, same for too soft. The bullseye is near treeline northerlies, places like Exxon's Folly (or anything resembling that) come to mind.
The photos below are some examples of the scouring above treeline on slopes that we would typically be worried about this time of year
