March 18
Alexander Basin-Pole canyon
Elevations, slope angles and aspects:
6200-10200', angles over 35°, all aspects.
Avalanche activity:
Limited to rollers
on east facing at upper elevations. At elevations below 8k, point releases and wet sluffs within recent snow were more extensive, leaving debris piles up to a foot or so deep in the Pole canyon gully.
Slopes skied:
Middle bowl ne facing and the Cabin run out Pole canyon.
Snow conditions:
A good overnight refreeze left off aspects and south facing crusted. Daytime heating and sun softened those crusts, producing some limited wet activity. Timing the softening allowed good snow cone snow skiing at upper elevations. Warming produced mank at lower elevations, although it was within upper snow layering and remained supportable.Some soft and settled snow lingered on the upper elevation shady.
Winds from a variety of directions, most recent, northwest have scoured and drifted
wind drifts and glide cracks in Broads Fork
upper elevation exposed terrain.
Weather:
Partly cloudy. Mild temperatures. Wind from the northwest, gusting to 20 mph, switching to the south and decreasing in the afternoon.
Evaluation:
Instabilities were limited to wet activity, mostly at lower elevations. Currently forecast storm should bond better than the last go around and future instabilities would be from wind drifting. Warm spring sun would likely increase wet activity by the weekend.
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