Wind slabs in Rescue Creek

Noticeably less hazardous avalanche hazards here in Rescue Creek than what we found yesterday in the Swan Range

• We found generally stable conditions at low elevations and most mid-elevations, 8" - 12" of incohesive snow over the Groundhog Crust.  A skin track from Friday morning was still well intact - evidence of no wind transport.  Trees held snow on their branches except for near passes that channeled winds.  
• Around 6,000', the snow was densified by the wind and we found pockets of reactive wind slabs in crossloaded gullies and behind trees.  These were 6" to 10", 4F to 1F hard, 10 to 20' wide and not moving far downslope.  
• We found evidence of a natural D1.5 to D2 shallow soft slab cycle off of the E/SE face of Mt. Penrose that likely occurred on Friday afternoon with a pulse of SW winds.  Subsequent NE winds had eroded most of the start zones of these areas, leaving smaller and harder pockets of wind slab on opposite leeward terrain features.  We also saw a recent persistent slab avalanche that was several feet thick and likely ran on the Groundhog crust, on a West aspect at 6,400'.  
• Our initial goal was to ski a steep gulley off of Mt. Penrose, but deteriorating visibility and evidence of wind effect in the gulley turned us back towards wind protected, steep glade runs, which had good quality turns and no signs of instability.