Negatives 1/30/10

Skied out of June Mt. to the Negatives on 1/30/10.  There was a couple inches of new snow overnight.  Skinning up throught the hourglass was tough with the couple inches of new snow on top of a firm windboard.  Winds were moderate out of the southwest on top with a lot of new snow being deposited on the northeast aspects.

I cut loose a small, soft windslab, approximately 2-10 inches deep and 60 feet wide, at the top of the main shot above the S-couloir with a ski cut.  The slab was the newly deposited snow that had been transported by the wind.  It ran for several hundred vertical feet, all the way down though the S-couloir.

I dug a hasty pit about 60 feet below the top.  There was the 2-3 inches of new snow that was not reactive at this point.  There was however a layer 18"-24" deep that failed while isolating a column for a compresion test.  I had forgot my saw and used a ski to cut the back of the block.  Column failed while using my ski to cut the back of the column.  Extra force from the ski might have been partially resposible for column failing.

After skiing the Negatives we skinned back into the resort because of a crust present on the lower slopes above four seasons.  Also noticed that there was a small slide/sluff that had come down across our skin track in the hourglass as we headed back into the resort.  Appeared to have been a small cornice that had broke off the cliffs above.  Cornice formed due to wind transported snow.