Main concern today was for wind transported slab and slab from new snow sitting on our pack of faceted snow.

On accent what got my attention was just how variable the snow pack is. From supportable base to completely hollow with pole planting / probing.

I was not going to dig a pit but could not resist. Many fine layers of crust with facets in between (pic attached). No real surprise here. Of interest the new snow was bonded fairly well to the old surface. Most likely from rain before it started to snow. However I could not isolate a column with failure very near the ground. I did not notice any cracking or collapsing today.

On top of S. Monitor I did break off a tiny piece of cornice. At first a small slab broke out but then that turned into a sluf which ran only 1/3 slope. This got my interest but then I spoke with Mark and Brett and decided it is best to ski lower angle S. S.W. facing.

Ran into two other travelers today and as one put it "you know what is under the crust it's really no surprise".

Best describe today as "with variability comes complexity".