Observation: Monte Cristo

We were mainly looking at the surface snow. The surface hoar (which is frost on the snow) was everywhere and mostly resting on dense powder. In many places it was either knocked over or affected by the sun.

Weather conditions that create surface hoar, typically are good for near surface faceting (weakening). This is evident in the "knee" in the temp profile due to flip-flopping temperatures. The surface snow is very cold at night but warms considerably during the day.

Only on the most sheltered and shaded locations did the surface snow seem very faceted. Otherwise, I'm not too concerned in this area. Other zones seem worse.

Photo below shows surface hoar and the second photo shows some clouds approaching the area ahead of the next storm.

Mostly dense settled powder. Surface hoar everywhere and some faceting in the surface snow. Based on recent obs, I expected more.