Throughout the walk we experienced just about all of the snow conditions one would expect in cold weather. There were old sun crusts on solar aspects lower in the drainage. Higher in the drainage, where the big mountains come into view, the evidence of strong southern winds became prevalent, though wind's seemed to be haphazardly thrown around the basin by the shapely mountains which surround it. E-N was wind loaded, S-W was stripped and chutes seemed to be variably filled/cross loaded. Snow depth varied greatly but was on average <1 m above 10k and dwindled to about 40 cms at the summer TH. There was about an inch of new snow last night in the upper basin. All the way up from the trailhead to the pass the snowpack had been placed, or thrown, on top of weak, sugary facets.