Noisy snowpack at Noisy Basin

Winds hit the Swan Range last night harder than we expected, and we backed off of steeper plans after we identified dangerous avalanche conditions.

• After we emerged from dense timber, we encountered extensive wind drifting which produced regular collapses and shooting cracks. 
• Fresh wind slabs were dense and fairly hard, varying from 4F to 1F in hardness, and mostly around a foot to 18" deep.  
• In drifted areas, we also got several rumbling collapses that appeared to fail above or below the Groundhog Day crust, which was 2 to 4 feet deep.  This was occurring around 5500', where the crust was thin and collapsible, with facets above and below it.  
• In dense trees at low elevations, wind affect was minimal and we found ~10" -12" of stable, low-density snow over the Groundhog Day crust.  There were isolated drifts in open areas, such as road cuts.  
• Scary conditions and challenging travel with grabby wind slabs and cold temps.  We strictly avoided crossing on or below leeward slopes steeper than 30 degrees.  In the case of the Switchback trail, this was the W/NW side of the ridge.  The SE aspect appeared to be wind scoured down to the Groundhog Day crust, which also offered stable conditions but poor riding quality.  
• We did not assess upper elevations due to severe wind chill.