Observation: Public

Observation Details

Signs of Unstable Snow

Observations

Gusty and chilly winds throughout the day. A clear morning with increasing clouds as the day wore on.

We toured up to just below the Castle Saddle. Down in the trees and valleys there is plenty of well developed surface hoar and the snow is generally soft. In open areas near treeline and above, the snow was in various stages of wind effected.

Dug a quick pit just below the Castle Saddle with no concerning test results to report. We opted not to top out to the ridge based on the skiing looking bad. Instead we had some less than ideal turns through wind effected snow as we headed for the trees. We ended up finding good skiing in those more protected areas. At the top of our skin track where it broke out of the trees, it was filling in between laps with wind drifted snow.

There was possibly a crown, or possibly a wind lip below Pinnacle Peak. Also noticed some older crowns on steep unsupported slopes and convexities that were mostly filled in. Biggest one spotted was maybe a D1.5.