I was surprised to find a fairly shallow and weak snowpack off Bald's summit. I poked around numerous spots along the ridge down into the lower-angle portions of the main shots on the "AK Face" and only found around 90cm of completely faceted snow from top to bottom. There was little evidence of a thick wind slab on this face, but the slope still looked untouched and intimidating. The overhanging cornice on the south face is well-developed, and small portions have started to break off. Southerly slopes off the ridge had a deeper snowpack from northerly wind-loading and were around 120cm as I worked down through the trees. The surface snow was still soft but warming under the direct sun. There is a decomposing sun crust about a foot down that has been breaking down and is not overly concerning.

Gore Range

From the Spraddle Creek Trailhead up to the summit of Bald Mt

The snowpack on the steep northwest-facing bowl was heavily wind-affected and thin. Most surfaces were wind-hardened, and there didn't appear to be well-developed slabs on this aspect. The northeast-facing bowl (AK face) was much less wind-affected, but the snowpack was fully faceted and lacked any supportable slab. Around 60cm of small facets were sitting on 30cm of well-developed depth hoar near the ground. This is a scary setup for future storms, as the weak snow looked widespread throughout the start zones. Stability tests had no propagating results.

It was a beautiful sunny day with zero clouds and no wind.