Quick report
Rode back into the head of Willow Creek. This area has a deep, hefty snowpack as usual. Found a surprising 8-10" of new snow above a recently formed melt freeze crust. Today there was bursts of heavy snowfall close to 1"/hour likely due to localized banding. 20" of fresh snow is still preserved from last weeks trickle, except on steep solar aspects. New snow is bonding well to the previous old snow surfaces. No cracking, collapsing or recent avalanche activity. Lots of snow available for transport if the wind increases. Dug a couple pits in low and middle elevations with no propagating test results. Overcast skies all day. Overall fairly stable conditions considering all the recent snow. Increased temperatures or wind could change this quickly.
Snowpack
New snow from the steady trickle last week is bonding well to the old interface. Snow is continually settling but has not formed a firm, cohesive slab. Dug a couple pits to assess the persistent slab problem.
6900' SW aspect HS: 180cm ECTN14 down 25cm on 5cm thick melt freeze crust formed recently. No propagation on Feb 18th crust/facet layer down 60cm.
8500' W aspect HS: 238cm ECTN22 down 38cm on 1mm facets with density change (4F- to 1F). No propagation on Feb 18th crust/facet layer down 68cm.