Approached the Storm Creek Headwall to attempt one of the mixed lines, but turned back due to concern about the fresh snow and wind, increased avalanche danger and an unwillingness to push things early in the season. There was 6cm of new snow in the parking, increasing to 10-20cm by treeline.

We reached the bench below the first climbs (Silmarillion, Rectal Squirrels) and encountered moderate gusting strong winds with significant transport. Some wind loaded pockets below the climbs were over 50cm deep with several layers of soft slab beginning to form - one down ~10cm in storm snow, and one down ~30cm in harder, consolidated snow. I dug a couple of hasty pits, and these layers slid with minimal force on hand shears.

While hiking back down the valley, we noted several size 1 loose dry avalanches above the climbs. As previously reported, there doesn't seem to be a ton of ice on the Storm Headwall this year compared to last year; most of the climbs are either thin or in fully mixed shape.

While there's not currently a ton of snow up there, conditions are changing quickly and there might be enough in small pockets to push a leader off, especially given the ice conditions at the moment.