A slightly different field day report where I'll share how we evaluated the snowpack as we moved through avalanche terrain:

Route today was up Yellowjacket, down Toots to Boot, up Wilson Glade, with an exit via Bonus Bowl. With the PWL problem getting closer to dormancy, it was refreshing to focus on evaluating new snow issues where there are several easy stability tests can be performed quickly. We knew there has been a lot of recent snow and wind-drifting, so we were watching for signs of cracking. Also, lots of quick hand pits looking for density changes within the storm slab. And finally, we were looking for any recent avalanches.

Ascending Yellowjacket Gulch, we saw no signs of instability - no cracking and hand pits were showing a storm slab that had come in rightside up. Gaining the ridge above Alexander Basin, there was more wind-drifted snow, but again, no cracking with ski cuts on test slopes. An ECTX and and shovel shear and compression tests got no fractures (STN and CTN). I performed a shovel tilt test, and did get a somewhat clean shear above the sun crust on this east-facing slope, but given the unreactivity of the storm slab, we felt comfortable dropping down Toots to Boot.

Ascending Wilson Glade, we dug a pit at 9,600' on a north aspect where we found the March 2/3 dust layer buried down 75 cms (2.5'). We performed an extended column test, with ECTP27 down in facets below the dust crust.

Although my stability tests over the past 10 days have been ECTX on this dust layer, this pit indicated the facets could still be an issue, and with 45 cms of new snow on top of this layer, we easily made the decision to avoid the steeper headwall of Wilson Glade.

When exiting Bonus Bowl - a steep, north-facing run that drops you down close to the Millcreek Road above the Alexander Basin TH, we evaluated the slope and found denser, wind-drifted snow with a storm slab up to 60 cms thick. Quick stability tests got clean shears at the interface of the storm slab and dry snow at the old snow surface.

Again, an easy decision to avoid this steep slope, and instead choose a lower-angled, non wind-loaded slope for our exit.