Had a beauty of a day up high in the Essex area.
Yes- there is a crust (4800 feet). 3 inches of light density sits on top.
Yes- we have a couple problematic layers (55 cms down and 90 cms down). No propagating results in ECT.
But man are we pleased on the stability after a recent loading event and high winds.
Our party toured up to 7 grand today out of Essex and were met by many views and calm weather where it was unpleasant 24 hours earlier, due to high wind speeds. It was delightful to push past our previous days high point and to step onto bigger terrain after a day of settling out. We still did not ski steeper than 35 degrees, but did ski open, planar terrain. We were surprised that this terrain was not wind scoured and slabbed up. The only areas where we noted wind slabs were on the ridge lines. We had stellar views into the Alpine zones and did not see any new crowns. We were happy to find good skiing this weekend in the backcountry and hope the danger trends lower with the high pressure coming.
