Quick report
We found shelter from the wind in NE/E trees above Charity Valley west of Blue Lakes road at about 8000 ft. Although snowfall rates were minimal and matched the forecast, snow surface conditions were surprisingly better than we had anticipated for our motorized avalanche course we were teaching. The top several inches of the snowpack was faceted in the tree'd zones we were riding and with the addition of cold snow on the surface, it made for some enjoyable riding conditions despite the chilly temps. These conditions enabled us to keep the snowmobiles on edge much easier compared to the extremely variable conditions we have been experiencing in the region over the past couple weeks. The weather remained cold in the low 20's the whole day, however we managed to stay out of gusty zones by staying in the trees. Our shovel tilt test propagated directly below a melt freeze crust that was above a layer of facets ~13cm down . Additional snowpack test results did not yield any further concerns or signs of instability.