Wheeler Mtn

We skied Wheeler Mountain on Sunday Dec. 26. We approached via South Cottonwood. The creek is not yet frozen so the approach requires crossing in a narrow log about 40 yards upstream of the summer crossing. Snow depth remains low for most of the approach. We used the summer trail to the last prominent avalanche path and then switchbacked in the forest adjacent to it. We dug 3 pits in the area where the funnel opens up between 8000 and 8200 feet.
All pits had about 25 to 30 centimeters of sugary snow near the ground. All ECTs failed at the top of that sugary snow (none propagated).
Pit 1: Snow depth 60 cm, ECTN 23
Pit 2: Snow depth 90 cm, ECTN 18
Pit 3: Snow depth 115 cm, ECTN 29
Additional thoughts/info: Even though the tests suggest relatively stable conditions, we did not ski this aspect because the upper meadows that feed that avalanche path are in the “perfect” 30 to 40 degree range, the snow depth was highly variable, and those meadows feed into an ugly deep and narrow trench. Anyhow, we traversed further south and skied the large meadow at the south end of Wheeler Mountain where the steepest section is 30 degrees. The skiing was excellent and we got a great workout because it’s a long approach 😉.