Mt. Tallac

We went to Mt. Tallac today to look for some spring snow.  Increased overnight cloud cover and above freezing temperatures did not provide a good refreeze in this area for this morning.  Soft and mushy snow was present by mid-morning and conditions deteriorated from there.  We found a 1'' melt freeze crust that was 1F hard and melting quickly by mid-morning.  Due to the deep wet snow, we decided to change our plans and ski down a less steep slope with less avalanche terrain exposure.  We found mostly supportable snow conditions above 9000' to the peak on East aspects around 11am.  The light to moderate SW winds seemed to have helped limit snow surface warming at these higher elevations in the late morning.  Once below 9000', the snow became deeper and more unsupportable as we descended.  We observed roller balls, pinwheels, and some previous wet loose avalanches and cornice collapses during our tour.