Quick report
Went out to explore the Chair Peak environs and take the skis and tools for a walk. We found firmer surface conditions below 4000', getting progressively softer with higher elevation. The inversion was real! Just look at telemetry for this AM; 31F at the car at 3100' and 49F at the top of Alpental. WILD! Not surprising, the ice on the NE Buttress Route on Chair Peak is pretty much gone, leaving hollow bits in the chokes. We didn't feel solid about pulling on the hollow ice, especially hearing running water underneath, and opted to call it a morning sunrise walk after some scratching. Very interesting (and complex) snowpack / weather setup right now! Is the surface crust going to get thicker with more heat cycles, or will it break down with prolonged overnight freezing levels near 11,000'...hard to know! We skied a few turns of pseudo, GMO corn and then mostly breaker crust back to the car. The damage that this latest rain storm has done to the snowpack is quite stark. Pineapple Pass has many rocks showing and many creeks are visible again. Source Lake is a lake once again! Snow Lake is still frozen but some blue patches on the edge of the lake now. Some large debris piles under craggy features. Large pile in the Chair Peak basin. Also saw some large glide cracks below the North Face of Chair Peak. Plenty of refrozen roller balls as well.
Snowpack
A tricky snowpack! There's a 1.5 - 2 inch surface crust from 3000' - 5200' or so (at least the elevation bands we observed). This crust is supportable to skis and stronger at lower elevation bands due to the inversion. However, above 4500' the crust can be punched through with some force on skis, and certainly can be punched through on feet (quite easily at times I might add). Around trees and rocky features the crust is much thinner and not supportive. Beneath the crust are wet rounds that are unconsolidated and quite shmoo-y. By 8AM on solar aspects below 5200' the surface crust was starting to break down, not supporting skis entirely. It would grab your tails at times and sink to the shmoo beneath.