Overcast, making it feel colder, but making the snow cruchier (and thus a bit easier to walk)

Tony left today – Home duties called (or was it cried)?  We chose not to accompany him, since avalanche conditions are only Moderate.  We did arrange walkie-talkie check-ins every 15-30 minutes, and Will and I went to Kettle Ponds at the same time, so we had a good connection.  By the time he got to the trailhead (about 1:40 total trip), we were at Kettle Ponds and were able to communicate with our phones.  Thanks for your help and great attitude, Tony!

At the site, we did our remaing tasks:

• Arrived at site at 0938

• Read pillow serial numbers:

  Pillow	SN
  1	22001
  2	22003
  3 (the one we opened)	22004
  4	can't read due to the way it is mounted

  
  

• secured the Tsnow mote box
• replaced the cap on the DSM port for the EC100 at 1m.c, that we had disconnected yesterday.
• most of the time was working on Rsw.in.9m.d.  Indeed, its fan wasn't running (the other 3 were working).  Ultimately, I think the problem is a loose connection in the Lemo(?) connector at the end of the K&Z yellow cable.  This connector has a hex nut and also a knurled "nut" for tightening.  On this one cable, the hex nut was loose and it was very hard to turn the knurled nut without further loosening the hex.  In the end, I swapped this cable with the ventillator for Rsw.out.9m.d, but miraculously, it stayed connected and was working when I left.
• It was hard, doing all this since the Rsw radiometers are at the far end of the boom, requiring a long reach.  The only way I could manage was to remove the entire Rsw.in radiometer and ventillator plate.  We had brought an extra, so I went ahead and swapped it in even though I was able to get the old ventillator fan running connected to a different yellow cable.  I could only get 3 of the 4 bolts holding the ventillator to its standoffs.  I left the 4th loose inside the housing.  We just need to loosen the bottom of the standoff, but I didn't have a wrench.  Maybe later this visit. All this took almost 2 hours, with me taking several breaks just to stretch and put my gloves back on.  Poor Will had to stand on his skis below me the entire time.   Sorry, Will!
• At 1208, I cleaned all radiometers and came down.
• Had lunch, left site about 1310.

Jessica, Ethan, and team arrived at (their) cabin about the same time that we got back to ours.