Quick report
We observed frozen snow surfaces on all aspects in the morning. By 1pm, SW and W aspects had 1" of melted snow on the surface, which made for pleasant skiing. N aspects remained firm throughout the day, with a trace of recent snow on top of firm crusts. Northerly aspects have experienced some surface faceting, and we found areas of surface hoar, although most was blown over by recent winds. NE winds made for chilly conditions at the ridge tops, however, it felt quite warm in protected areas. Clouds increased during the day.
Weather
- Cloud Cover
- few
Snowpack
We dug a snow profile on a N aspect at 9400'. HS in this area was 175-180 cms. 20 cms of K hard crusts at the surface. Below this was 40 cms of P hard rounded snow. We were surprised to find faceted snow under this layer, 10 cms of small facets. This layer was weakest at the top interface (4F+). A CT test showed CTH SP fracture. ECTN results. Because it was rather challenging to cut through the surface crust in this area, this layer is probably not a concern at this time. However, it was interesting to find and shows how just a few cold days can begin to transform the snowpack.