Quick report
The remains of recent loose wet activity were visible this morning in a number of locations, mostly at the upper elevations along the ridgeline, but also in a few mid-elevation spots with southerly and westerly aspects. With continued warm temps and sun in the forecast, loose wet avalanches should be in the back of any backcountry traveler's mind. Pictured here are a few on the south end of Mount Ogden.
Cornices exist nearly everywhere along the Snowbasin ridgeline--DeMoisy, Middle Bowl, Needles, Porky's, the Flank, Mount Ogden, etc. They demand respect, particularly as some of the larger ones are better than 6 feet tall. If we do happen to pick up additional appreciable snowfall, it's a safe bet that where there are cornices, there will likely be wind slabs nearby. Pictured here are cornices above the Needles lift and lodge.
Snowpack
Despite air temps above freezing at the base and a relatively high freezing line, the snow surface was frozen and supportive this morning before 0700am. However, this changed fairly quickly as the sun came up and began warming things up. There was still a bit of softish surface snow up high, but it was minimal and wind affected. To that end, very shallow wind pockets were present at the upper elevations, but I did not find anything particularly concerning today. Sun exposed slopes yielded corn by mid-morning.