Battle between sun and wind

Toured in the northern Flathead Range to look for wet loose activity and lingering wind slabs.

• Sunny, bluebird day
• 4-10" of snow above last weekend's sun crust
• Observed a couple wet loose slides running on steep, gullied, and east facing aspects of Penrose above 6000 ft prior to winds picking up
• Moderate southwest wind's with strong gusts above 5500 ft started around 10 am
  • Snow plumes off peaks above 6000 ft noted throughout the day
• Sustained winds allowed air temperatures and snow surface to stay cool despite direct sunshine
• Lots of pinwheels and rollerballs primarily observed below 6000 ft on sunny slopes
• Shady, mid/ upper elevations slopes remained dry and provided the best skiing quality
• Small, newly formed wind slabs were found on leeward slopes above 6000 ft
  • These were specific to below ridgelines and cross-loaded gully features that were reactive to ski cuts and didn't run far or entrain a large amount of snow
• West through southeast aspects had a thin, breakable sun crust by late afternoon that made for some tricky skiing
• Limited evidence of old, natural wind slab activity during prior 48 hours