Microway better than expected

At the Microwave sled zone today, we were pleasantly surprised to find 5 cm of dry light snow on top of a thin, breakable rain crust. Below this another 10 cm of dry sugary snow sit on top of the thick late January crust. The alpine was visibly wind affected, we suspect wind slabs may exist on isolated northerly terrain features. Surface hoar can be found in sheltered areas on the snow surface. The snowpack was very supportive and made for a fun day of skill development on the machine.