Round Mountain early season

Headed out to see what the early season conditions were looking like around Diamondhead and ended up having an incredible day. Dug a pit just past Round Mtn, didn't see anything unexpected or alarming, and proceeded to shred 30cm of fresh early-season pow. Good snow cover all the way to the parking area, but the road is still basically clear. I did see a ranger truck, so expect chain checks.

Dug a pit off Paul's Ridge just past Round Mountain on a northern aspect. Snowpack was sitting at about 120cm depth. New storm snow from the last couple of weather fronts was sitting on a 15cm thick crust layer about 60cm down. Below that the snow was well-bonded and resistant to shearing. I got a mild compression failure at 3 shoulder taps 30cm deep.