Quiet Day In Spider Bowl

We traveled up W and NW aspects in Spider Bowl looking for storm slab problems today.

• We had minor, localized cracking at our feet and sluffing on slopes up to 38 degrees, but no slabs breaking or shooting cracks.
• We got sudden small column results in 3 different locations, but no propagating results. The storm slabs in our travels today were still very soft (F+) and between 8 and 16" thick. The new snow covers over the rain crust from last week up to 6300' on all aspects. We found small facets on top of the crust and occasional small, decomposing surface hoar. All of our test results failed on these buried weak layers. There are also facets under the crust and above a second, older crust that is down another 12" lower in the snowpack. This structure was confirmed in many quick had pits on the descent. Hand shears failed with easy to moderate tugging, but mostly the new snow crumbled around our hands.
• Visibility started out alight today, but deteriorated as a new wave of light snow moved in about 11am. We spent time with binoculars and a camera before the visibility deteriorated looking for evidence of recent natural avalanches on the surrounding slopes but couldn't see anything notable.
• No other signs of istability. Calm winds.
• We did not get above 6400'. Below about 5600' the snowpack thins abruptly and it's easy to go bushwhacking if you don't have a summer trail to travel on.