Clawed our way up the Rescue trail and emerged into the full sunshine about 10am. Sun-affected slopes warmed quickly, with East and north aspects staying relatively dry, and south aspects turning from corn to mush before noon. A light breeze kept the snow firmer on the ridge proper, but we observed a small skier-triggered wet slide on an east aspect about 13:30 that showed us clearly that the snowpack was getting significantly more isothermic where protected from the breeze. We stuck to a low-angle exit, hugging the more north-facing slopes where the snow stayed dry. Shaded aspects did not have evidence of having warmed above freezing the past few days. The trail had not warmed by our exit, and the only stability in question in this shaded zone was that of my ACL's.
