Observation Date: 01/25/2020

Route/Location:
Little St. Joeseph peak, East Bowls

Weather:
Warm at altitude, felt like it was hovering around freezing at 9000 feet. Got a solid shot of freezing rain at the summit mid afternoon, which coated us in ice but strangely didn’t affect the skiing.

Wind:
Intermittent gusts but overall calm.

New Snow: 6-12″

Avalanche Activity:
Poor visibility, no observed avalanches. Dug a pit at the steep rollover on the Southeast ridge at 7800 feet. 160cm total snow depth, with an energetic, clean ECTP30 80cm down on a very thin layer of tiny facets, with the bed surface being 1 finger hardness snow (no crust). Overall the snowpack is nicely consolidated compared to a two weeks ago, and appears to be gaining strength. The 30cm depth hoar layer at the ground is ever present, but it appeared to be rounding a bit and setting up more than it has been.

Other Comments:
Superb powder conditions above 7000 feet, fast and surfy. Our pit results were not super confidence inspiring, but it was nice to see that the persistent deep slab problem isn’t quite as hair trigger as it has been. However, if it goes, it’s going to go big. We stuck to low angle terrain and had a blast. The ski out is pretty dicey, but entirely doable, and we made it to the upper lot without having to remove skis.

Observer: Adam Pohl