My party found a sensitive graupel layer two feet deep on a North East aspect at 9000 feet in Neffs Canyon. We found this in two quick hand pits, on the second, the block just fell out of the pit. Spooky. The weak layer was graupel, which was visible with the failure but was hard to see when just digging in with a glove.

We may this observation as we approached a steeper chute in upper Neffs. We put in a couple of quick hand pits as we climbed. We were still pretty low in the chute, likely where the graupel was pooling. If it's not obvious, we bailed on the route.

I was mostly thinking about wind today and this caught me a bit off guard. As conditions in general are getting better, this layer could remain in localized areas. Something to keep in mind.