February 5

Bowman trail-Gobblers Knob-Pole Canyon

Elevations, slope angles and aspects

6200-10200', angles over 35°, north and west facing aspects.

Snow conditions

An inch or so of fresh at the trail head increasing to 3-4" at upper elevations, thick and creamy out of the wind.

A new rime crust formed late in the storm.

new-crust

I found it on northwest facing Gobblers from 10k down to about 8k. It is thin and fragile, noisy to ski through.

Riming on terrain features facing the wind was dramatic.

six-inch

These had grown to a length over 6".

Scouring on the ridges has once again exposed the glazed ice from January 16th.

Lee aspects were avoided.

Weather

Overcast to foggy skies. Snow flurries at times. Winds were from the wnw gusting over 30 mph along the ridge.

Evaluation

Instability remains the same with the addition of a few more inches of snow.

Wind drifting on lee aspects.

Still possible to take a slider on the rain crust, especially upper elevation wind scoured.

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