Quick report
Tuesday's rime exposed below today's graupel.
Soft wind crust with loose graupel below.
Dippin-dots this morning. Anyone else remember this craze?
Snowpack
Graupel was the treat for today: 6cm near Alta Base and closer to 10 near Rocky Point. Winds have made visible textures and soft, 2 cm crusts in some locations. Strange sensation, that of breaking a crust and watching the bean-bag-chair spill out below. In some steeper locations graupel has blown off the surface of Tuesday’s rime, but ECT from 20° 10,200’ North facing pit didn’t suggest the rime-graupel interface to be a likely culprit for future slides. In fact, nothing propagated although elbow taps led to localized failure within graupel layer, and arm taps caused an inelegant and ill-defined localized failure within the 30 cm of decomposed fragments above the basal facets. Of note, the basal facets seemed less sugary and more damp then expected, especially at alta base.
Enthusiastic stomping on steep test slopes proved ineffective, but partner was able to crack out an isolated small wind drift on basal facets. (ie- 5' wide crack that failed on basal facets).