Big Y Big Wind

The north winds and -20C temps sent us in search of sheltered powder in the Big Y today. Moderate north winds were transporting snow into new wind slab but only in the high alpine in south through southwest facing start zones. We found well preserved powder and decent visibility in the lower end of the Big Y. We had a mid day dig on a north facing gully side wall at 1480m. There was 300cm of snow at this location. The Feb 9th SH was buried 50cm and the Jan 30 crust was buried 90cm. Neither gave results in standard snowpack tests but the Jan 30th crust sheared cleanly with a pry of the shovel. We were hardly able to identify the SH crystals on Feb 9th at this location. Light was decent for a while, we saw lots of alpine terrain and no new avalanches.