4"

Low

Powder

With a dust on crust feel yesterday at mid-elevations, I was not looking forward to having to get into higher elevations for decent snow (with more wind exposure, and more deep facet uncertainty). Test cuts today on a N-facing, semi-sheltered ridge at 9000' down to 8800' did not show cracking, although it was kind of a small sample size. This area is not too steep, mostly around 34 degrees, but with some limited areas rolling to 36-38 degrees, such that this area often cracks with a cut, but generally doesn't run much. No cracking to speak of today. Heading out the No Name gate, it was disappointingly "dust-on-crust" feeling (wind scoured down to sun crusts I suppose; I don't think it rained that high), and I thought about heading back to a groomer; how bad would the exit be? Surprisingly, mid-elevation trees had benefited greatly from last night's reported 1", plus this morning's 3", resulted in a right-side-up foot above a dense "rain crust" from Jan 29th, which had softened enough (sublimated?) that it was not too harsh of a base. I did have a surface sluff run 150 feet in a lower elevation, steeper area. So the mid-elevation (8500-7000) north-facing trees are not as bad as I had feared. Trying to keep slope angles below 35 degrees, especially above 8500'. The exit down to 6400' was tolerable, not great but not hard rain crust either.