It was an enjoyable day with calm winds and mild temperatures that stayed below freezing. A few short sun breaks even allowed for views into the Goat Rocks.
Small natural wind slabs that likely ran mid-storm were present along east aspects, below the ridge on Darland Mountain.
At 3300ft, 15cm of new snow covered the groomed trail. These new snow depths increased to 30cm by 5000ft, and riding conditions on the groomed trail were quite enjoyable. The recent snow showed a good bond to the underlying surfaces, and slope tests and hand pits produced no results.
Near and Above treeline, significant wind drifting was evident, and drifts up to 3ft deep were present along the ridge, sometimes obscuring the groomed trail. However, we experienced very little cracking in these deep drifts, and steep wind-loaded test slopes produced no results.
Snow heights above 5500ft were consistently in the 200-230cm range. A quick snow profile at 6700ft on a north aspect showed 50cm of recent storm snow overlaying the Valentine's Crust. The recent storm snow had a favorable hardness profile, soft snow on top and increasing hardness with depth. Some weaker (4F+) snow exists below the Valentine's crust. Compression test results failed in progressive compression on this layer. CTH PC ↓50cm (x2)