Quick report
No obvious signs of instability encountered.
Weather
Afternoon weather obs: mostly clear skies with bands of high clouds hanging on the Smoky Crest. Upper elevation winds were calm to light with no apparent, distinct wind direction.
Snowpack
Few formal obs, just moving through terrain. HS=20cm near the trailhead, increasing to 30cm on valley floors at the head of the drainage. HS increased to 50-65cm as I climbed above valley bottom in areas where pre-11/30 snow exists. The majority of the slab has faceted here, the densest portion was a 5-7cm thick 4F interval near the base of the 30-40cm thick slab. The upper half of the slab is approaching "head" hardness. Widespread SH observed in shaded, sheltered terrain, with grains commonly approaching 8-10mm in size. Upper elevation surfaces are a mixed bag, with advanced facets on many slopes, multiple facet+crust combos on solars and solar margins (SSE-SE, SW-WSW), and some stiff, icy but edgeable surfaces on direct solars. Very few of these surfaces look like they will hold up well to loading.
Avalanche
No recent avalanche activity observed.