Soldier Fork3/10/2022
Travel today was up to Soldier Peak via Butler Fork. Only got a little ways up the trail before we had to start breaking trail.The breaking was fairly deep but doable on the S facing, got deeper and harder on the more northerly terrain. Today was a day to take a step back and let the new snow settle and let the pack adjust to the new load. We experienced multiple fairly large collapses while breaking trail on the low angle protected terrain but nothing on the actual slope. Any sort of collapsing should be taken seriously in my book and I was glad we stuck to the lower angle slope today. The new snow got damp on the south facing and will most likely be crusted in the am. I am still suspect of steep slopes on the N end of the compass until proven otherwise but I think these instabilities will settle out with time and warming temperatures. I’m more suspect of protected steep terrain on the N end of the compass than the wide open alpine slopes but patience is key after receiving a large load of snow with a good amount of water weight. It’s just nice to get a real storm, it was starting to get ragged out there
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January 2024
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