Thompson Pass - N Oddesy Gulley

I went up to Thompson Pass in search of the 3/16 buried surface hoar that is expected to be found 1-2+ feet deep in many areas through our forecast area. While touring up N Oddesey Gulley I dug hand pits every few hundred feet from road level to upper elevations.  The depth of the most recent storm snow ranged from 15cm at road level to 37cm in mid-mountain areas. Hand pits all produced moderate planar shears at the interface where the buried surface hoar was expected to be found. No intact surface hoar was found in any of the observed locations. Scattered decomposing surface hoar was found in all pits at the interface. Crystal shapes included flat sharp edged to rounded grains, and some hexagons. These were intermixed with decomposing precipitation particles and some rounds from the layer below.  The overlying slab was unreactive to stubborn in all areas traveled. Although good stability was found in the observed area other locations may have buried surface hoar that is still intact and reactive to human triggers. Use caution when entering an area that has limited snowpack observations. 

In upper elevations, the surface snow was scoured down to old slabby surfaces that were becoming faceted in areas. 

Some peaks in the area appeared to be wind effected including Catchers Mitt, Goodwills, Girls, and the area I traveled. 

I did not observe signs of instability in the area.