Tale of two aspects, neither good

Tale of two aspects, neither good

Date
Activity
Skiing

Toured up between Flathead Pass and Ainger Lake/Bollywood Headwall. Three pits at different elevations and aspects summarized below.

 

Pit 1:

7600', E aspect, HS 100cm, ECTX, uploading full pit profile on SnowPilot. Poor structure but as of now a stable pit result. Could change quick with additional load.

Pit 2:

8100', NE aspect, HS 160cm, ECTP28@120cm (in hindsight performed test on deeper side of column, still got an unstable result)

Pit 3:

8100', SE aspect, HS 90cm, ECTP22@30cm

 

Overall obs; soft snow in sheltered areas, particularly on E-->SE aspects above 7600' (and quite good skiing!); wind blasted crust on exposed N aspects and on ridge lines; below 7600' was very much survival skiing w/ bottomless facets and breakable crust (not such great skiing...); wind slabs on leeward slopes ~15-20cm thick, subtly stiffening through the day and shooting cracks ~5' from skis where wind slab present; strong winds out of generally the NW; cloud ceiling ~8400', ridge line was just barely obscured.

Low angle pow skipping was excellent from ~8100' to 7600'. 

Region
Bridger Range
Location (from list)
Flathead Pass
Observer Name
Matt Zia