Kendall Lakes Area

Four to eight inches of recent snow dramatically improved travel conditions over the very firm and thick Early February Crust. We didn't encounter any avalanche concerns from the new snow.  Travel hazards like open creeks and holes continue to cause an issue, particularly at lower elevations. 

No signs of instability were seen.

Recent Snow: The amount of recent snow over the Early February Crust (EFC) increases quickly as you gain elevation. Close the trailhead (2600ft)  we only found about 2-4in (6-10cm). At 3500ft, this increased to 6in (15cm). Above 4000ft, about 8-12in (20-30cm) of new snow was found. In general, this recent snow was right-side-up. However, about 4000ft we did find a crust sandwich just about the EFC. We didn't see any facets between these crusts at this time, but they could develop. The new snow is very light dry and unconsolidated. 

The EFC was very thick (~1ft 30cm) and stout. It was fully supportable on all aspects and elevations. 

We took a quick look below the EFC on a N-facing aspect at 4400ft. In this location, the wet snow from the last atmospheric river extended down about 2ft into the snowpack. While much of it was frozen into the EFC, the rest was still wet and weak. Below drier snow still exist. You can still see the older persistent weak layers, however, they appear to be gaining strength. 

Wind Slab: We didn't find any signs of wind transported snow, but we were generally in lower elevation sheltered terrain 

Wet Snow: With sun breaks the snow surface became wet and sticky on southerly aspects. We didn't see any rollerballs or loose wet avalanches, but the snowpack was definitely heading in that direction.