The avalanche debris field is about .5 mile from the first creek crossing. Some trucks are making it up the road to the debris field, but I would exercise extreme caution because the creek is deep and swift. There is also A LOT of water flowing down the road. When you reach the debris, angle slightly to the hiker's left if you are going up in the pre-dawn hours to find the road again. The rest of the road is a mixed bag, but you should be able to make it up and down without snowshoes. Past the intersection with the Peal Pass road, the snow becomes continuous. I deviated off of the road and headed straight up into the basin, but I don't know how much longer people will be able to do that. Castle Creek is flowing swiftly beneath the snow, so postholing will get your feet wet or worse. Snow was nice and firm in the morning, but I managed to posthole up to my waist near some islands of rock in the afternoon. There are some pretty big sun cups at the base of Conundrum Couloir that will probably make for a bumpy ski descent. Snow in the couloir itself was perfect for climbing at the time of this report. Cornice at the top is still avoidable by angling to the climber's right.
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