Great observations continue to come our way. Cold clear nights are generating surface hoar growth in the region & while not a concern right now, it will be interesting to see what happens before the next storm. Will the surface hoar persevere or be wiped out by pre-frontal winds? It could get lively out there when we turn the faucet back on next week.There are a few players in the snowpack, but it's pretty quiet at the moment. I feel like we need a fresh load (new snow) before we'll see any significant avalanche activity.Getting into the snowpack, a rain crust is present just under the snow surface below 1800m. Digging reveals a pretty well organized snowpack. A bit of soft fist snow can be found in upper elevations with a good tight midpack consisting of more dense snow below. The alpine is holding 150-200 cm. Treeline depths are between 50 -150 cm. Recent snowpack observations indicate that the late October rain crust is present in the alpine elevations and down approximately 120cm. This crust is said to be up to 5mm in thickness with faceting below it. For the moment the crust seems to be bridging over the facets below, with a well settled 1F - P midpack above. If you're out & about please drop me a line & let me know what you're seeing:
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