Observation: North Goup

No need to dig at this location, as simple ski pole probing revealed a weak and faceted snowpack top to bottom. The snow profile confirms the pole probe. Old, hard wind slabs may exist on top of this weak snow in isolated areas in extreme terrain. I would be on the lookout for this setup (wind slab over facets) if I were trying to ski off summits right now. Skiing this type of terrain is currently challenging due to the low snow cover.

Travel was from about 7,800 feet up to 11,300 feet. There was little to no snow at the low elevations, with plenty of dirt and rocks. Above 9,500 feet, there was 12-24 inches of snow, similar to the rest of the range. South faces were shallow, with a melt-freeze crust barely keeping you above the dirt and rocks. Above 10,200 feet, I traveled mainly on west through north-facing slopes and found "sand box" type conditions mixed with occasional wind crusts. The snowpack on these slopes was faceted top to bottom. Much of the flat terrain, or slopes with no aspect, had widespread mature surface hoar.