Lost Trail Pass

This observation started Friday afternoon when returning over Lost Trail Pass with a rime event and light east wind. I got out of the car and noted that the rime was starting to cap and preserve the surface hoar at the snow surface. 

With 1 inch of new snow Saturday night and a light west wind, I wanted to see how well preserved or destroyed the surface hoar was and if it has potential for future problems. 

The surface hoar is buried and preserved on all aspects at upper elevation in areas sheltered from wind. With 1-4 inches of new snow ontop of it, I expect this layer to stick around for the foreseeable future and if we get a significant snow event that builds a slab to have reactive avalanche conditions. 

I also dug on a north aspect at 8000' to check in on the December crusts. The snow around these crusts is rounded, unreactive in tests, and no longer poses a persistent slab problem. 

Any wind slab formation was small, with no slabs capable of producing a slab large enough to catch and carry a person. 

Generally stable snowpack with no avalanche problems large enough to catch or bury a person.