Silver Mountain sidecountry

Another cold, cloudless, and sunny day, creating an environment for surface hoar to grow even larger and faceting to extend even deeper into the snowpack. Expect a variety of surfaces in the mountains, with the most common conditions ranging from a breakable and supportable crust to very slick and icy. On some open and isolated north-facing slopes at mid elevations, the surface crust is breaking down enough for the facets to make very small sluffs with ski pressure. Although the danger is low now, conditions will likely change quickly once enough snow builds on the existing surface. 

None observed.

Breakable crust, supportable crust, firm and icy slopes, and slightly softer decomposing surfaces all exist at varying aspects and elevations. The commonality amongst all areas right now is the extent of faceting happening below the surface. At 6100' on a N/NW aspect with a HS of 110cm, there was some degree of faceting throughout the entire pit. The December rain crusts have consolidated enough that they are squished together and rest right above the AR crust, which was knife-hard. Everything below the AR crust was K hard and very firm. The Grinch crust is continuing to break down, and the elusive January 3rd-4th rain crust was variable throughout the snow pit- we were able to find remnants of it in some spots and not in others. 

The size of the surface hoar is better measured in cm instead of mm in some locations. We found a fresh round of rime on the surface mixed in with the large surface hoar.