Loose Wet Avalanche Activity on Hidden Peak

Precipitation was winding down mid morning on the West Shore when we started our tour.  Storm totals were 2'' at the trailhead with up to 4'' at the higher elevations.  Areas below 8000', this new snow sat on top of mostly old soft wet snow that did not freeze overnight.  Above 8000', firmer and supportable surface crusts existed below the new storm snow.   Some wind scouring was noted along the summit ridge with wind slabs up to 8'' deep along with small cornice development.  These wind slabs showed some minor cracking but did not propagate with ski cuts or cornice drops.  Wind slab development was less than expected with the forecasted winds for today not materializing in this area.  Snow conditions changed quickly in the late morning as mostly cloudy skies went to partly cloudy with full sun breaks at times.  On slopes steeper than 35 degrees, human triggered loose wet avalanches were widespread.  These avalanches would slide on the existing crust bed surface and run fast and full path.  They only involved the recent 2-4'' of storm snow, so the depth of the avalanche debris was mostly limited to D1-1.5 in size.   These loose wet avalanches could easily take someone for a ride into terrain hazards such as rocks, trees, bushes, and/or cliffs.   Below 7600', the upper snowpack became unsupportable with skipen at shin deep with sticky and slow skiing.