New Snow on Ernie Miller Ridge

We toured over south Bacon Rind and into Ernie Miller Ridge today. The weather was variable, alternating between periods of calm winds and warm sun, and periods of heavy cloud cover, snow, and high winds. At the summit winds were strong out of the SW, but previous wind deposits further down pointed towards recent Northerly winds. These were strong enough to scour snow off the crust, and create drifts up to a foot deep. The sun was also affecting the snow surface, rapidly warming and wetting the snow above the crust. This wet snow was not bonding well to the crust. Some cold snow remained and made for good skiing.

We took the variability of the snowpack and the risks of a consequential slide into account and traveled through moderate terrain, avoiding excessive exposure.