22-23

There was 9” of new snow at higher elevations compared to 4” at the parking lot, and what was accurately reported at Shower Falls SNOTEL. We saw strong winds blowing huge plumes of snow off Maid of the Mist proper. Spindrift and wind-loading into gullies, near ridgelines and other slopes exposed to the wind was our primary concern. We dug two snowpits, one in the Basin low on a north facing slope and another on the south-facing shoulder. We got ECTNs in both. We found the 2-3" thick layer of facets and surface hoar on the south-facing pit buried 3' deep. They propagated failure with a few extra hits in our ECT. They weren't sensitive where we dug today, but I would not forget about them. 

We avoided wind-loaded slopes entirely and would recommend digging down three to four feet to test the upper level of the snowpack before considering any steep slopes. 

The 3-5” of new snow at Buck Ridge has blown into 1-1.5’ wind slab throughout the area. Cornices were built along the trail, and along ridgelines. The wind continued to transport snow today. We rode towards Beaver Creek to see if there was any avalanche activity–we saw a few small wind slabs. Next, we headed to the head of Bear Creek. The snow had built big pillows of wind drifted snow along the climb to the wilderness boundary. We observed some cracking on this slope when we stepped off our sleds. We stopped and dug a pit on the east facing slope at 9,400’. We found 7.5’ of snow (240 cm), and we had an ECTP 14, 2.5 feet below the surface of the snow on a layer of facets.

A slide occured at cliff lake up the  North Meadow area. I realized it had blown half way out into the lake. Looked like 48 to 72 hours ago but ice had been comprimised pushing chunks up.