Blowing Snow and Wind Scouring on Carpenter Peak

We snowmobiled out towards Carpenter Ridge and then switched to skis to assess the snow conditions in this area.  Cold morning temperatures warmed up quickly with mostly sunny skies and warmer temperatures.  Strong overnight NE winds had already scoured snow surfaces on all higher elevation exposed N-NE-E aspects.  Moderate NE winds continued today with blowing snow and new cornice formation and wind slabs on southerly aspects.  These wind slabs were limited to near ridgeline and were small in this terrain.  Once below the wind scouring, cold unconsolidated snow existed in wind protected northerly terrain.  Storm snow settlement continues with the sun and warmer temperatures today starting to impact the snow on most aspects except due north.  The NE flow did keep temperatures cool and while tree dripping started to occur today, it was not major.  Ski cutting small test slopes, dropping cornice chunks on slopes, and observing lots of nearby terrain, all showed limited instabilities with the recent storm snow in this area.  Low snow coverage on the lower elevation road system to access this terrain could become impassable shortly as snow melt continues.