Castle Peak & Coon Canyon Observations: West Wind Collection AIARE 2

We spent 2 days touring in the Castle Peak and Coon Canyon area for West Wind Collection AIARE 2. 

On Saturday (22th) we preformed a full profile snow pit. NE aspect at 7400ft with a slope angle of 21. Winds were light out of the NE and air temp was -1C.  We observed a very settled and strong snowpack from 180cm to the ground with a rain crust from Nov storms at 60cm, and some surface level weaknesses. At 20 cm below the surface there was a high temperature gradiant of 2 degrees per cm around a rain crust. This was resulting in some surface level faceting. We preformed a ECT and got a partial propagation (ECT 17N) at 180cm or about 30cm down from the surface. While it didn't propagate the whole way, the block popped free when tugged.

The follow day, Sunday (23th), we toured to Coon Canyon looking for good snow conditions. We thought we may find recycled powder in sun and wind protected areas given the evidence we saw the day before. Plus the weather conditions have been right, cold nights and mild days. Ascending the south face of Castle Peak was firm and icy but just starting to soften at around 10am. Once we made the ridgeline we began to see some surface faceting and powdery snow. We descended a west-facing, gladed aspect in Coon Caynon and found what we were looking for. Soft powder conditions which made for great skiing. After our first fun we observed surface hoar low around the creek. Temps rose quickly in the afternoon which made the skin out hot and tiring. We observed glide cracks beginning to form on dome features behind Castle Peak. Likely due to the warm temperatures during the day and cold nights. Finally, after enjoying a couple runs in Coon Caynon, we made the ridge above the south face of Castle. By this time (2pm), the snow has softened nicely making for good skiing on the way out. Temps did not rise anough to create any wet loose problems and we saw no signs of rollers or avalance activity.