Essex

=Good to excellent powder conditions out there. =No signs of instability. =Storm snow totals up to 40cm. Variable per location. Ridge lines were blown almost down to the crust in some spots, from the previous storm. =High stratus layer in the am, then breaking up a bit in the afternoon. Bit of sun, but not enough to affect the snow surface. Wind was light out of the south west. 3* at ridge tops, and 11 back at the car. =There are a few density layer changes in the top 40+/-, all loose snow, not enough cohesion to form a soft slab at this point. Top few inches would crack apart bit along the skin track, wind, maybe some humidity? This all sits on varying snow/crust types. Previous FAC OBS and Advisories do a great job describing this. =We did avoid large exposed open terrain, that had obvious wind affected snow. The wind in some areas had created soft to almost hard slabs overlying loose snow. Easy to pick these areas out, as they had large scalloped wind row patterns. Ridge lines, alpine bowls... Tree skiing was great. =Good stability, but really depends on your choice of terrain.

Quick report