Mammoth Lakes Basin - Sampling the variable

I went into the Lakes Basin today to sample the surfaces on a variety of aspects and at different elevations.

Solars-

• I found surfaces on solar aspects to be quite 3-dimensional, though they were warming below about 10800' and provided some of the better turns I found today. 
• Boot penetration was not more than 10 -20 cm, and I was not able to kick loose any concerning sluffs.
• Pretty decent eastside pseudo corn. 

Polars-

• In shaded areas without old tracks near and above treeline, I found that near-surface facets dominate the surface and made for pleasant travel.
• The surface faceting is pretty impressive. In a sheltered area on a NE aspect at 10,000' I found striaeted near surface facets up to 2mm in size. 
• I found cold and dry surface snow as low as 9,000' in the shade
• Areas with sun exposure or at lower elevations have a thin melt-freeze crust (or moist grains) above cold and dry near-surface facets.

The in between-

• This is where the fun really starts!
• When traveling between shade and sun, I found the whole spectrum of surfaces, from wet and soft to cold and crusty. Sometimes from one turn to the next. I found this to be the least pleasant travel, and the areas I was most likely to see snow that was ready to get gloppy and sticky.