Joshua Levigne and I enjoyed a chilly tour up and over the so-called
"Observation Sub-Peaks" today, skiing down the south bowl from the very top
of the second peak.
Good travel along a well-broken trail into the upper cirque. Past this there
was no sign of previous travel due to the fact that the alpine has been
thoroughly hammered by wind--with the exception of sheltered S and SE
aspects. Ski crampons might be a good idea.
Our run down was a big, pleasant surprise--10-15 cm of low density facets on
top of a bulletproof crust made for a long sweet run. Below treeline the
going is sporty--I busted pretty well every survival ski trick I know. Lots
of early season hazards.
The glaciers on the north side of Obs/Cirque are totally wind scoured and
not worth skiing right now.
We observed no new avalanche activity. Some signs of sz 1-2 on SE aspects in
the alpine. Some whoomfing and minor cracking on E asp (reasonably
sheltered/loaded) at 8000-8300 ft: a 10 cm soft slab with the upper 5 cm
being unconsolidated facets. Average height of snow is around 50 cm, a deli
sandwich of facets, faceting MF crusts, and faceting windcrusts galore. It
doesn't get better than the Rockies in December.
Stability -- from our limited observations I would guess Good in the alpine
(caution on specific windloaded features), Fair at treeline, and Good below
treeline (below threshold).
Regards,
Tom Wolfe
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