Observation: Maybird Gulch

Still trying to get a better sense of the current snowpack and it remains challenging. This past week I was finding an overly stable snowpack in my travels, but with a poor structure. Overall I was getting the feeling the mid-pack faceted weak layer was strengthening. Am still thinking this is the case, but the rime/rain crusts now buried anywhere from 30 - 75 cms (1-2.5') are still showing evidence of weaknesses where today we were getting clean shears with Moderate effort both above and below the crusts. (I traveled in this approximate area on Sunday and was getting few clean shears.)

Also worth remembering the rime/rain crusts are not present everywhere (though they are pretty easy to identify with an inverted pole where they are present), and that a layer of NSF formed in early December and was preserved the during the week Dec 15 when we had lighter snow amounts, and was capped by the heavy Solstice storm.

Spatial variability remains the wild card and I'm still leery of traveling on or below steeper slopes, especially those on northerly aspects. I think we're getting there though .....

Plumes coming off of some of the higher peaks from the Easterly winds were especially evident through mid day, and fresh wind drifts on NW through SW aspects may be found at upper elevations. (Aspects where we aren't used to seeing wind drifts.)

HS is now about 120 cms (4') although even deeper in some areas. The very light density snow has settled quite a bit with numerous settlement cones. Below about 9.5K no wind affect, however East winds affected many aspects at higher elevations.

Snow felt much stiffer today, likely due to the wind and colder temps. Whereas it was easy to ski relatively low angled slopes the past few days, the stiffer/denser snow today required steeper slopes to move.

On a short tour on Monday Dec 29 (did not submit observation) I was getting 45-60 cm ski penetration. Today ski pens were 30 cms.