White Pass: Hogback Mt, Gunsight Peak

It was a gorgeous day with a couple of inches of new snow and generally good stability. Travel was much more fun than expected! 

None Observed

Wind Slab: You could see signs recent blowing snow including drits, pillows, rime, etc. But we didn't find any wind slabs at these slightly lower elevations. Along Hogback ridge, there was rime on both sides of the same tree demonstrating the recent switches in wind direction. 

Wet Loose: There were lots of rollerballs from yesterday, but the only new ones we say were from a few rock outcrops where the snow snow produce very small pinwheels. No loose wet slides were seen. 

Snowpack: Sparkly! Surface hoar and near surface facets were everywhere today. They melted back on southerly slopes, but lingered elsewhere. About 1-2in of new snow capped the 12/30 crust. Above about 6000ft this layer was supportable, but it became weaker and more breakable as we descended. 

In general, the snowpack was strong, and while I could find all the recent notable crusts (12/25, 12/22, 12/6, etc.) they were not concerning. The only item of note was small (1mm) facets between the 12/30 and 12/25 crusts. Not an issue now, but worth watching.