Quick report
In shaded, wind-sheltered terrain, the recent skiff of snow has capped a mixture of facets and surface hoar. Slopes where the wind has done some work have been stripped down to the ground in some places or harbored a stiff, rippled snow surface. Mid-pack weak layers were unreactive in stability tests.
Weather
- Air Temp
- Teens
- Cloud Cover
- clear
- Wind Loading
- light
- Recent Snowfall
- Trace to 5
- Snow Avail For Transport
- small smounts
Ridgetop winds were calm to light.
Snowpack
Where the wind has done some work, the snow surface was a mixture of stiff wind-affected snow and borderline sastrugi in some places. Anywhere sheltered from the wind, ~5cm of new snow sits above facets or, in some areas, intact surface hoar (see photo). On the few solar slopes traveled on today, a thin crust exists below the recent skiff of snow—thin enough that it was hardly noticeable while riding.
On a north-facing slope at 8900', the upper 20cm of the snowpack is soft and faceted. Mid-December, weak layers yielded ECTX and PST 62/100 END results (HS 135). The slab above has resisted faceting to some degree, with ~40cm of 1F snow near the base of the slab.