December 27
Bowman trail to the top of Gobblers, down Porter.
Elevations, slope angles and aspects:
6200'-10'400', angles over 35°, north and west aspects.
Slopes skied:
Gobblers shoulder, dead snag and off the top.
Snow conditions:
An inch of new light density overlying the settled recent storm snow.
Faceting was found all the way to the summit on the new surface snow.
Growing feathers above the creek
and surface hoar down in the lower elevation gully bottom.
Up higher northerly winds had compacted the recent snow, forming a mostly supportable crust.Weak snow was found below the latest storm snow however, it is currently not loaded enough to produce instabilities.
Weather:
Another day of mid elevation clouds rolling through obscuring vision from time to time. Winds from the north at upper elevations decreasing during the day. Cool temperatures.
Evaluation:
Snow was stable in the area traveled. Concerns would be on the northeast facing which have seen several periods of loading and have the old weak snow. Future concerns would be related to the mid pack faceted layering and yet another layer of facets forming on the current snow surface.
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