Little Change in Tepee Basin

We rode onto Tepee Basin and saw little change since the last time we were there on December 13th (see that here). What we did find is that the snow has become more supportable in some areas but the poor structure remains. In our stability tests we had low scores on both northern and southern apects, with ECTP11 and ECTP12 results on facets below early December snow. The snow near the surface has begun to facet and surface hoar can be found on many slopes. In some areas this surface hoar was large and rimed. 

As the snow returns areas with this poor structure will increase in danger. As the amount of snow increases so will the possibility of triggering an avalanche.