Beehive Basin

Surface conditions have deteriorated, and tonight's refresh will be a welcome change (fingers crossed). Snow surfaces have remained mostly dry on the northern half of the compass above 8000, but even those have hardened, leaving little snow available for transport. Any slope with a south-facing component has a crust, although these are mostly superficial, and the snow below the 1-2" thick crust remains dry in middle and upper elevations. Additionally, the last week of high pressure has resulted in a bit of faceting (weakening) at the surface and below the crusts. 

We dug three pits, one at the bottom of Tyler's (west facing), one on a northeast-facing slope in Bear Basin just below the prayer flags, and one on a southeast-facing pitch near Middle Basin. All resulted in ECTNs in the 20s, unremarkable and stable results. The January facet layer has remained dry in most places above 8500' elevation, but it has hardened to 4F and seems somewhat stronger than it was a week ago. As we discussed in forecasting meetings, there is a lot going on in the upper 2 feet of the snowpack, and when loaded, I will step back from avalanche terrain, make conservative decisions, and take a wait-and-see approach.