DATE OF OBSERVATION: 01/15/2015
NAME: Cold Smoke Splitboards
ASPECT: East, South East, South, South West
ELEVATION: 11,750 ft
AVALANCHES: Lots of small sluffs running off cliff bands from Schuylkill all the way around to Angel Pass in the basin. Did not observe any slides stepping down into the deeper part of the snowpack.
WEATHER: Sunny skies all day with no wind. Temp’s were coldest at valley bottom and gradually warmed as we ascended. Felt like March or April above tree line in sunny spots.
SNOWPACK: 25-30cm of very low density snow from the previous storm was found throughout Baxter Basin. Sunny slopes were starting to develop a crusty surface especially later in the day. New snow seemed to be bonding well to the hard crust it sat on. Did not dig down to the bottom but did not see or feel any obvious signs of instability within the persistent slab/depth hoar area of the snowpack. Steepest slope skied was 30-35 degrees.