West Side of the Swan

We went to the west side of the Swan to get more information on recent wind loading and buried weak layers.

• We found soft wind drifts all along the ridgeline where we traveled above about 5000 feet. They were the results of variable winds. These were 4 to 16 inches deep on the ridge, but only stretched 20 to 40 feet down the slopes on either side. We got localized cracking in some of them. We got one very small one to release on a test slope (see video).
• We did not find preserved surface hoar in our hand pits until above 6000 feet. We found it preserved and upright on sheltered slopes on northwest and northeast aspects. It was buried about a foot deep. This layer did not propagate in our stability tests because the overlying snow is not a cohesive enough slab yet.
• In our pits in wind-exposed, northeast-facing terrain, and on southwest slopes, the surface hoar was broken and knocked over. We got similar stability test results in these areas because the surface hoar caps a layer of weak, sugary facets above the mid-January crust.
• Southwest winds began to increase above 6000 feet in the afternoon and we saw light blowing snow.

We felt comfortable skiing short, steep pitches sheltered from the wind and without the buried surface hoar. There we found excellent, ankle-deep, soft snow.