Puzzle Hills/Skyland

We went to Skyland to see how much new snow had fallen since Tuesday morning and take note of what the crust from the weekend was like. Several other parties were doing the same, I'm hopeful their day was a success as well.

• There was 8-12 inches of unconsolidated snow. Winds had yet to really affect it, other than in truly exposed ridglines and narrow passes. When the winds do kick up tonight (wednesday) there is PLENTY of snow for transport.
• The crust that was formed from the warm weather/rain over the weekend is robust. Below 6,000 feet it is very supportable and on all aspects. Above that it remains supportable (approx. 3 inches thick) on southerlies and begins to thin on northerlies. At 6,500 feet, on shaded aspects, it is only 1-2 cm thick and no longer supports the weight of a human.
• We dug a pit at 6,800 feet on a NE aspect. The new snow was well bonded to the thin crust and didn't produce any results in snowpit tests. The JDL layer, however, failed with 24 taps (ECTP24) and was 95 cm down.