Skinned up to the microwave tower in the Swan range yesterday, 12/10/21. There was about a foot of fresh snow above the crust. Winds were howling at the microwave tower, and visibility was poor. Cornices were starting to form on the ridgeline, but they were small and not particularly reactive. I skied one run down to Picnic Lake, followed by a run down to Black Lake. Off the ridge in sheltered terrain, the new snow remained loose and quite fun to ski. While traveling, the buried crust was mostly supportive of the weight of snow and rider. When the collapse of the crust did occur, it was localized to right around a skier. There were no shooting cracks and no whumpfing. I dug a couple of hand pits. The new snow had surprisingly good bonding with the crust. Overall, it was a good day if you stayed out of the wind.
