Toured to and above Marion Lake for sunburns and recreational snowpit digging among other activities.
No wind, clear (i.e. sunny, bluebird, etc.) skies all day.
Sun affected snow surface on solar exposed slopes before 12. Low elevation temps remained below freezing throughout the day.
We found propagation with moderate force (ECTP14) on a SE sheltered mid-slope at approx 6500 ft. HS was approx 130cm and the failure occurred 60cm down from the surface on well preserved buried surface hoar.
We dug a second pit near a SE ridgeline at approx 7,000 ft. HS was 220, and we found no propagation in an ECT. Layers of concern are buried deeper in this location. Our hasty PST was uneventful, likely due to our poor column isolation.
On an NNE slope at approx 6,500 ft we found a snowpack that was relatively cohesive and more than 200 cm deep. We found good stability and no propagation on this aspect.
We saw no obvious signs of instability. We had views into Glacier Park and into the high peaks of the Great Bear Wilderness from our various perches on the ridgeline. No recent avalanche activity was noted.
Non-solar slopes have developed a healthy crop of surface hoar.
Trail to Marion lake is icy, consider that a warning for both uphill and downhill travel. =)
