Trail breaking was arduous with the abundance of new snow. HS measured around 11,500' in a sheltered area and was 125cm, more than double what was on the ground previously. Open terrain at higher elevations showed signs of wind-transported snow and large drifts many feet thick behind clumps of trees or large rocks.

Out the upper gate to the ridge above Olsen Lake

Plenty of old crown lines had drifted back in, likely running last night or very early this morning. I remotely triggered a large avalanche from around 200' away along the ridgeline. The maximum height of the crown was pushing seven feet. This is a heavily wind-loaded, broad, easterly-facing ridge. The slab was still soft and consisted mainly of new or recently drifted snow, failing on a thin layer of facets at the ground.

The snowpack showed consistent signs of instability as I moved through undisturbed snow. Large rumbling collapses were numerous but somewhat muffled due to the massive new load. The east-facing ridgeline I was investigating had a massive fetch to the west and continued to fill with wind-drifted snow. Looking at the crown of the avalanche I remotely triggered, I found a soft Fist to Fist+ slab, which was many feet thick, that failed on a thin layer of facets at the ground.

The sky was primarily overcast with intermittent snowfall, occasionally opening to patchy blue skies. The winds were light from the west.