Headed up to see the after effects of a big Saturday.  Like heading into a trashed frat house after the cops come, the area was deserted and littered(with tracks, not Old Style beer cans) .  Fully expecting to see some slide remnants in the bowls, but the reports of a slide in Benchie were just spray.  Forty or so tracks in plain view. Plenty of snow testers exploring all aspects.  Maybe a small fracture on skiers’ left side of Benchie, but nothing real significant and hard to tell as the area was laced with tracks on top of the possible remnants.

Greybird day and temperatures finally cooling off with the incoming front.  No recent movement in Old Man’s, the right side stamped with tracks and a few poking into the first gully skier’s left of shrubbercross alley.

Took full advantage of the stability and headed left middle gully for the first time all year. One might even call it a, gasp, SKI CUT!!! Just kidding, can’t help myself.  The snow was settled and surfy, no movement at all the run. Still some reef in the roll over gullies, but finally getting covered.

Some advice. 5 second rule. If you are going to delve into the middle of any  open areas, you need to be able to ski your line all at once, with speed, without stopping on the cliff bands. Otherwise don’t bother.  CMHing through these areas will get you pounded.

Headed out to the ridge and saw two small(30 ft wide) slab pockets had ripped on the lower skier’s right side of the West Wall. These were small shallow areas with no propagation or run distance (50 ft), an effect of the recent new snow on the sun baked east facing West Wall giving way.

Found good snow in the Forgotten Trees, shaded north facing, it provided good knee-deep pow skiing.  Hit the lower cliff band in the trees and fractured a 20 foot circle of snow.  Just collapsed, didn’t run but stopped me dead in my tracks.  Time to look around and enjoy the solitude of the moment and the light snow starting to fall in the trees.

Found an undisturbed tree pocket next door to my landing to do a quick CT test and snow profile.  38 degrees, north facing, untouched.  Perfect.  Again not too much difference in the snow profile from other recent pits. 10 cms of fresh snow   of  55 cms of slighlty denser old storm snow.  At the bottom the less than fist density 3 mm facets still there to the ground.

105 cms total depth, -3 C air temp, -1C snow surface temp.  CT column results were a little different from a couple of days ago.

CT-2  Q1 at 95 cms.  Old snow/new snow interface, just the top fluff.

CT-17 Q3 at 35 cms.  Again within the 3mm facets, but ragged and uneven.

Only did a single column, so no back up for the results, but an indicator that maybe things aren’t quite as dire as they have been.  The colder temps seemed to lock the snow up just a bit, and heading out to the bus there were no signs of recent slides in the lower aspens.  Just lots and lots of tracks. Lots.