Holland Lake

More snow moving around than I expected today:

• Above 6000', Found an average of 4 to 6 inches of unconsolidated surface snow on a meltfreeze crust. 
• Blowing snow was evident as early as 9am on the high peaks of the Missions. 
• Southwest winds and drifting increased throughout the day. 
• Noticed blowing snow well downslope from ridges. 
• Soft slabs up to 8 inches cracked easily under foot. Drifts thicker than 8 inches were more stubborn. 
• Watched a small natural cornice fall and found a recent small soft slab avalanche. 

I ended up bailing on my objective. The last 500 feet of ridge walk looked miserable and slabs were getting thicker and wider. 

Cracking in soft slabs at upper elevation along wind-exposed ridge. Collapsing on the sheltered side of the ridge at 7400'

Surface snow surprisingly well-preserved.

On solars: 10  to 15 cm unconsolidated snow on faceted crust.

On shaded slopes: 10-15 cm on spotty surface hoar. No crust in the top 30 cm.