Spent the day near Marias Pass. Calm winds all day, and clear for the approach and ascent. Clouds rolled in mid-day, limiting vis and bringing (yay!) snowfall.
Notable crust at all elevations, which was buried at high and mid elevations by afternoon. No signs of instability up high, though we stuck to low-angle and anchored terrain. 4-5 new inches of new snow by the end of the day. The exit was, we’ll say, well-anchored by alders, but I triggered a small slab at the mid-elevation, maybe 5 inches deep and 20’ wide, which initiated from a shooting crack while we were traversing above a steeper and open slope down to the creek bottom. This was the only sign of instability, but winds seemed to be picking up at the end of the day, so I’d expect some wind-transport overnight. The snow remained pretty dense and crusty without much new accumulation at the lowest elevations.
I triggered a small slab at the mid-elevation, maybe 5 inches deep and 20’ wide, which initiated from a shooting crack while we were traversing above a steeper and open slope down to the creek bottom.
