One Cracker At a Time

We didn't find much in the way of avalanche hazard at Raft Mountain today, but the recipe for a new weak layer is brewing on the surface. Warm temperatures and the sun have created a crust on south and west facing slopes on top of which some spiky new surface hoar crystals are growing each night. The surface hoar can be found everywhere on the surface right now but might be extra spicy once they are buried on slopes that also have a sun crust, which will make a perfect bed surface for avalanches to slide on. Currently though, the hazard in the area seemed quite low, although we avoided steep sunny slopes during the warmest part of the day. Generally the best riding/skiing to be found was on north and east facing slopes where there was still a little powder left.