Swamp Creek

It was a generally quiet day in the hills. There was plenty enough wind-transported snow to want to investigate before jumping onto steeper slopes, but wind slabs and other loaded or drifted features were all unreactive with informal tests.  Moderate mindset moving into steep terrain at upper elevations, but Low danger-style test results and travel. Will need to keep an eye on surface facets after they get buried, and also the faceted snow in the top 30cm. It doesn't seem like they will make for a long-term weak layer. But they could produce bigger or more surprising avalanches with the next round of heavy snowfall and wind this weekend.

Wind-affected surfaces and pockets of shallow wind slab at mid and upper elevations, and a soft, breakable crust on southerly aspects.  Small surface facets were found in shaded and sheltered areas, but no surface hoar in this area. About 30cm of 4F to 1F new snow over 12/7 rain crust - new snow is literally glued onto the crust. The most notable layer was an interface in the new snow down 20cm - 0.5-1.0mm facets. CTM-RP at this interface.  The remainder of the snowpack is well-settled layers of rain crusts and small rounded grains, pencil to knife hard. Boot pen was to the crust where the snow was not wind-stiffened or scoured down.