Surprise Lake Weather Station

Snow depths ranged from 12" (30 cm)  in the valley at 7000' up to 3 feet (100 cm) at the Surprise Lake weather station. I did not observe much wind effect, even with the moderate South wind. The new snow was not very cohesive except in exposed areas. I did observe numerous collapses, but test slopes were stubborn, even with the new snow sitting on weak, faceted grains.

No propagation was observed in the following pit: 8800', ESE aspect, 28-degree slope ECTN15 down 45cm at new/old interface. There seemed to be a density break several centimeters above the crust seen in the pit as mentioned in multiple observations, but the primary concern is the new/old interface.

The most significant hazard was the thin snowpack. Once through Burnt Wagon, I traveled on the summer trail up to 8500' due to thin coverage (see pictures). Above 8500', snow height was 28-36 inches, but almost half of that was unconsolidated new snow, and it didn't take much to sink down and find the shallowly buried rocks and logs. 

Weather Station:

Snow height 3 ft (95 cms), SWE on the interval board was 6.45 inches (The board had not been cleared yet this season).