Mind the Margins

This was our group's first time out in awhile and in a new zone nonetheless. As such, we operated with wide margins despite the decreasing avalanche hazard:

• 10" inches of recent unconsolidated snow @ 5000', increasing to 14" above 5600'
• We noted moderate blowing snow due to moderate westerly above 6400'
• We found windslabs 2-10" thick to be stubborn and isolated on a Southwest aspect near 7000', Stomping on a test slope produced shooting cracks up to 8ft.
• An extended column test produced stable results in our NW pit at 6800'.  A compression test failed in the top 3ft of the snow pack with hard force.
• The 1/13 crust at this location was 5-6' deep
• No recent avalanche
• No whumphing

We favored slopes less than 30 degrees. We felt comfortable skiing one short pitch that fell in the 30-35 degree range only after assessing conditions. We skied within sight/hooting distance of eachother and regrouped frequently to avoid getting off course in unfamiliar terrain.