Observation Date: 11/11/2019

Route/Location:
We ascended ESM ridge, skied down to have a look-see at the West couloir on Grey Wolf, and then ascended and descended the ESM ridge.

Weather:
Gorgeous calm-after-the-storm.

Wind:
Light winds except for on the exposed ESM ridge above 8500′ where it was maybe gusting to 15-20 mph occasionally.

New Snow: 12+”

Avalanche Activity:
We dug a pit on the fan beneath the West couloir on Grey Wolf at ~ 7,300′ and found a 5 cm thick rain crust 45 cm down. We isolated a column and got an ECTPV, Q1. It looks like the 1″ of SWE started as rain (5 cm rain crust) and then turned to snow with another temperature fluctuation at the end that created another more dense layer of snow near the top 5 cm of the pack. Needless to say, we backed off of our objective and enjoyed the superb early season coverage and mellower terrain in the area. We didn’t see any natural activity.

Other Comments:
The snowline in the Missions remains abrupt and at ~7,000 feet.

Observer: Ned Gall