BELOW - Taking a look at a more northerly facing, mid elevation slope, about 8,330 to 7,900' - much shallower, weak, colder snow pack. Very thin, uniform rain crust, again topped with small surface hoar crystals. Entire pack was weak beneath the crust. Some 4 Finger hardness snow, but mostly Fist hardness. Facets on the ground were cold, dry and weak. In spite of warm temperatures, this snow did not seem to be getting much warmth - shady, plus these are some of the shortest days of the winter.

Bottom Line - There are some interesting weak layers to watch during the next week of high pressure - any faceting beneath the rain crust and the depth hoar on the ground. Shallow snow pack areas will be particularly prone to weakining.