Weather
Overcast skies all day with intermittent light snow showers. Winds were light and variable throughout the day.
Snowpack
The snowpack is mainly made up of early November snow, which covered up most of the rocks just enough to make things interesting on both the uphill and the downhill. On some northerly slopes, a very small amount of mid-to-late October snow remains, about an inch or two. I found an average depth of around a foot, from 11,800ft to 12,500ft. As I moved up in elevation, I found an inch-thick 1-Finger hard layer, which was somewhat supportive in areas. Areas with wind-drifted, hollow snow that supports your weight will be the most dangerous right now. In these “deeper” areas, the facets were already 1mm in size for 10cm to the ground, and snow pit tests got results from moderate taps (ECTP11) at this layer.