Sun vs. Shade vs. Slope angle in Ophir Creek

We toured the Ophir Creek drainage today and saw no blowing snow or other signs of instability. Heavily shaded, wind protected below treeline areas on steeper N aspects still held unconsolidated recent storm snow unaffected by melt. In near treeline terrain, the snow surface was highly affected by previous NE and NW winds. Lower angle N aspect terrain had some thin surface crust from recent melt.

S aspects had supportable melt-freeze crust on the snow surface. Only on steeper S aspects with more direct sun angle, an inch or so of snow surface melt had formed by late morning. On the lower angle S aspects, more obtuse sun angles were preventing any significant amount of snow surface melt at midday.