Cold smoke by the millimeter

Location Name: Southern Whitefish Range Observation date: Sunday, April 11, 2021 - 17:00	Is this an Avalanche Observation: No

Observation made by: Public

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Quick Observation

Skiied southely and northerly facing slopes between 5000' and 6400' in the Southern Whitefish range today.
Amount of new, soft, cold snow was about 1" at 5000' and 3-4 at 6000'.
Crust under this snow remained supportive on all aspects all day, except in shady areas below 4500' in Haskill Basin.
On the higher northerlies the crust was about and inch thick, and mostly supportive for ski travel, though you could jam your skis through it with an over-zealous turn on steeper slopes. Snow immediately under this crust was 1 F hardness dry snow. Did not dig more than a foot down.
Crust on southerlies stayed supportive all day. Surface snow stayed dry above 5500'.
Found recent drifts up to ten inches thick on the leeward, NE-facing side of the most wind-favored saddles.
Stomping on fresh cornices released ski-width chunks of this recent slab, but otherwise noted no cracking in the surface snow or any other obvious signs of instability.
Avoided the most wind-loaded areas. Skiied slopes up to 40 degrees on both aspects without incident, though the most enjoyable skiing was on low-angle, higher elevation southerlies, which featured a robust crust and binding-deep pow!
Day started clear and sunny, with temps around 20 degrees at 4000' at 8:am.
After 10am the day was mostly overcast with occasional light snow flurries. Wind was calm to light and variable.
Stayed below freezing above 5500'.

Travel Details

Region:

Whitefish Range - Southern (south of Coal Creek)

Activity:

Skiing