Quick report
Warm day in the mountains, 32° leaving the trailhead. Mix of mostly cloudy skies, a few moments of sun and periods of light snow. Light westerly winds at upper elevations. Obvious signs of wind and drifting snow driving through Snake River Canyon but only found isolated pockets of stiffer drifts at 8500 feet on exposed NE slopes.
Visibility was in and out today but we did not see any signs of recent avalanches riding up the Greys River road and then heading south up Squaw Creek. About 10 inches of new snow since yesteray. Snow depth at 8500 feet in sheltered areas was about 3 ft. We dug 2 pits;
8350', SW Aspect, HS 45": ECTN14 down 12" in recent snow, ECTN 17 down 17" at possibly the 12/26 storm interface, ECTP27 down 33 inches on four-finger slab/fist facet interface.
8400', NE Aspect, HS 63": ECTN13 down 20" in decomposing crystals, possibly around the 12/26 interface, ECTP28 down 42" on facets. This pit was in a location with some wind loading.
Both pits showed high strength (propagating with high scores) but there remains a weak structure with a couple of weak layers, including recent storm interfaces from the last week. Time will tell if these interfaces heal, and we are just left with facets on the ground. Of note, the facets at the bottom of the snowpack in both locations were small (average 1mm) with some rounding and had moisture - evident when balling up into a fist.