February 17
Mill D-Reynolds-Butler-Wilson
Elevations, slope angles and aspects
6200-10K, angles over 35°, all aspects.
Snow conditions
6" at the trailhead increased to about 20" by late afternoon. Strong winds from the wsw
were moving that snow along the ridges. Numerous cornice falls were observed, with one possibly two slide cycles resulting in exposed terrain.
Cornice kicking and ski cuts produced loose snow sluffs both up on the ridges and lower on slopes. Several of those sluffs were over running previous natural slides.
By late afternoon, slope angles of less than 35° were almost too deep for linking turns.
Weather
Snow, heavy at times with overcast to obscure skies. Winds from the wsw, gusting to over 30 mph along the ridges. Winds speeds dropped considerably, down off the ridges. Moderate temperatures.
Evaluation
The usual: most avalanches occur during and shortly after storms. Since faceted snow does not appear to be a player in observed avalanche activity, would expect settlement decreases the active instability. Weather guessers suggest continued wind and more snow so, would expect to see some continued instability as a result, especially in wind drifted, upper elevation, exposed terrain.