Burnt Knoll

A couple new cms new in 24hrs at the parking lot, seemed like reasonable lower density snow. Then at roughly 1600m, all of the sudden the recent snow (increased to about 10cms) became wet and sticky. Was there an isolated temperature inversion? Or did the temperature just rise that fast? It was a very sudden change and was a surprise. I distinctly remember being kind of excited after observing and feeling the snow just ten mins prior, thinking our turns were going to be better than expected. Air temp recorded at the summit was -2. Snow was not as bad near the summit but the best snow in the morning hours seemed to be at the bottom, oddly enough. By afternoon, all areas 1700m and lower had seen temps rise to near 0 so all became sticky. Crust was present under new snow until about 1700m. Winds were moderately gusty at the summit but didn't see it moving snow.

The Upper 20-30cms seemed rather unconsolidated. No results on a column, extended column, or a hasty hand shear. The snow just crumbled. Perhaps the cold nights this past week faceted some of the upper snow. Below this unconsolidated snow, was 1 finger to near pencil thickness near the bottom. Pit was dug 1 meter and snowpack seems very stable. No crust present except to the very bottom of that meter which could be the late January crust. Snow pack temp was -5, consistent throughout the whole pit.