abyss into big Y drainage

Riding quality was:

Good

Snow conditions were:

• Deep powder
• Heavy
• Powder
• Wet
• Wind affected

We rode:

• Alpine slopes
• Mellow slopes
• Open trees

We stayed away from:

• Convex slopes
• Steep slopes

The day was:

• Cloudy
• Foggy
• Warm
• Wet
• Windy

We had intentions to travel up the Big Blue drainage but the visibility and wind scopes were too challenging so we changed our plans. We headed back up the big Y drainage following our old tracks with limited visibility. Snow remains wet up to 1200 meters, but no crust, just slushy snow. This light rain and warm weather is opening up creeks and uncovering rocks. Snow was great in sheltered areas protected from the wind around 1350 meters. We stuck to mellow meadows and low angle slopes, giving cornices a wide berth.

No new avalanches were observed today however we did not observe much with the fog. It has been difficult to get into alpine so we have minimal observation, but we suspect with these persistent S winds, slabs will continue to develop on the N aspects in alpine and upper treeline.