Fred's Mountain

The average HS was around 50cm (20 inches) above 8,600', variable by aspect, as certain areas had less than 1' of snow (think light thoughts when touring). S-W aspects held a semi-supportable 4F crust of moist older snow beneath the newest storm snow and generally skied better than aspects ranging from N-E. A 5-10 cm thick layer of small, moist facets exists at the base of the snowpack on S-W aspects, while N-E aspects harbored either a slight, friable crust with facets beneath or no crust at all, with 1-2mm facets. Our concerns were isolated to the new snow as well as obstacles with inconsistent coverage. It should be noted that aspects harboring the thicker crust will ride more supportably than northerly aspects.  At higher elevations, watch for isolated pockets of wind-drifted new snow. The potential consequences of being caught in a small avalanche include being knocked into trees, rocks, and other hazards. 

Cracking isolated to newest snowfall