Late spring conditions on Tallac.

We toured the E aspect Corkscrew avalanche path on Mt. Tallac this morning. Snow has melted out in the flats at and below 6,600' which necessitated a short walk through the woods to get onto the snow. Once on the snow, it was apparent that last night's snow surface refreeze was fairly strong and it strengthened as we gained elevation. Once above about 7,000', snow cover on E aspect terrain improved and became continuous. Below that it was only the N to NE aspect terrain that held continuous snowcover.

Descending from the ridgetop at 11:30 am, we were able to trigger a few minor rollerballs, but had supportable conditions for the entire descent. Only below about 7,300' at 11:45 am was it possible to push the basket end of a ski pole into deep wet snow. Even in these areas conditions remained ski supportable with a max of 2 inches of ski penetration into wet surface snow.

With increased melt out, sun cups, and a grittier snow surface texture, it felt more like summertime skiing.