Visted Broken Leg NOT North today to scope out some different terrain and see how the snowpack is behaving.
S to SW aspects were mostly melted out below 5800' N to WNW aspect had some snow on the ground down to 5200'. HS ~150cm at 6400'
All aspects visited characterized by 5-15cm of new precip in various forms over a K hard ice crust capping a thick P+ MF crust. Dug a pit at 6400' on a W aspect. CTN (ouch). Pulling on the column with hard force broke it off 75cm off the ground. Couldn't identify anything definitive about this fracture layer.
At 6400' on an E aspect the 15cm of new snow had completly softened by 11:00am and slid VERY easily on the hard ice crust.
W aspects were just beginning to soften at this time and elevation but were found to have already softened on the descent just a few hundred feet below and also slid very easily on the ice crust.
The majority of the avalanche activity appeared to be rollerballs dropping out of the rocks at upper elevations and not entraining or triggering any slides below. A couple very small slides highlighed in the photos appeared to be DL and one possibly triggered by a chunk of fallen cornice. All of this activity had likely occurred yesterday.
Beautiful Spring day. Skies FEW, Winds essentially Calm. Getting a very early start was important today.
Possibly a small section of cornice gave way
