We had a group of 6 ACC members out yesterday to ski and dig some practise pits. Ski quality was fairly poor, with an unsupportive 1-2cm rain crust below about 2000m. Despite this, the snowpack seems very supportive, well consolidated, and covers the sharks well.
We dug our pits on the north end of the ridge at around 1850m. We found well consolidated snow to ground, with an obvious 1 finger crust about 40cm down (early Dec crust). This was well bonded on both sides. We also noticed a crust at about 15cm (just below the Dec 16/17 storm layer) in some places. This layer occasionally failed during elbow taps but never propagated or "popped".
In short, the snow pack is looking good so far, with no concerning layers on the observed aspect and no faceting to speak of. Keep an eye out for slabs forming as the wind returns today with some fresh snow in the area.