Getting Weaker on Buck Ridge

Today, Ian and I rode Buck Ridge. The trail in and out was in decent shape with a few wind-stripped bare spots but mostly continuous coverage. We got eyes on First, Second and Third Yellow Mules as well as into McAtee Basin. Small, glittering surface hoar covered most aspects. At the head of Second Yellow Mule, we dug a pit on a NE aspect at 9400 ft and found a snowpack with weak layers throughout: surface hoar and near-surface faceting at the top and faceted snow near the ground. We got an ECTPX as we just didn't have the load on top of these weak layers to cause slab formation or propagation. 

In general, we did not see any notable dry-snow avalanche activity or signs of instability. Despite sunny skies, the snow surfaces we rode on stayed dry. One small loose-wet avalanche on a S facing aspect on Eglise Rock was observed that likely broke in the last day or two. We also noted a few reported wind slabs that broke last week. 

Our main hazards today were the early-season coverage and buried obstacles.