Powderhouse Observation

I toured on Powderhouse this afternoon. The blue skies transitioned to partially cloudy during my ascent. For a portion of the climb the cloud cover was the perfect density to maximize the solar heating. It didn't last very long and the snow didn't seem effected but it was noticeable and a discussion point on the skin track. I observed multiple tracks on the large summit ridge cornices but didn't see any cracking or slabs resulting from this activity. I skinned across smaller wind loaded test slopes nearby and was again surprised by how minimal the cracking was on these slopes. The snow on north facing terrain in the afternoon remained cold and uncohesive but on open north east slopes there was a crust forming.

Photo 1: Small sluff on a steep above tree line test slope

Photo 2: Small crack on undercut above tree line test slope

Photo 3: Hard to see in the photo, but there is a large crown in center of image on north bowl of Stevens Peak.

Photo 4: Multiple tracks along the corniced summit ridge but I didn't observe any cracks or slabs triggered

Photo 5: There were a couple incredibly deep tree wells next to the skin track.