Crusts ain't always all bad.

Quick afternoon jaunt to a well-known mid-elevation SE-facing avalanche path in the Southern Whitefish Range.  

• Having no ski crampons, skin track used low angle slopes.
• On open southerly slopes the 1/13 crust was supportive for a skier from about 4800'  up.to high point of 6400'.  Below 4800', the crust was semi-supportive, and often felt, on descent, more like skiing slighly frozen mush, but not in a bad way.  Very skiable.
• On a steep, open SE-facing slope that had not slid on 1/13,  the skiing had improved considerably since Monday, when it was textbook dust on crust.
• I attribute this to a bit of wind-loading on the slope, some settlement in the surface snow, a slightly improved bond to the crust, and, believe it or not, the fact that it was ever-so-slighlty sun-crusted. Maybe the 1cm plus of surface hoar on top of the micro suncrust didn't hurt either.  Did not feel the 1/13 crust at all on turns, which is surprising for 3-4 inches of light density, probably faceting snow.  Experienced no sluffing, even on steep pitches.  1/13 crust was 5-8 cm thick in this area.  
• Did not see evidence of glide cracks on this slope that is a regular glide avalache producer.
• Some minor snow-rollers (generally quarter-sized) below rocky areas were from Monday.  None more recent.
• 3-4 avalanches on this path ran during the 1/12-1/13 cycle.  At least 2 D2, R1. At least one D3, R2.  
• Crowns are barely visible in the photo, slighty filled in perhaps, but it appears the slab was not very thick.  Moderate amount of snow entrained.  At least one slide crossed the creek.  All visible crowns were a good bit below a rocky rollover, mid-slope, at approx. 5800'.