a pre storm tour of the Cardiff/ Hellgate/ and East Hellgate areas showed a real mixture of snpk structures- plenty of weak near surface snow as well as weaknesses associated with buried crusts- especially the case in areas with a thin snow cover. The weaknesses seemed to be of a pretty pockety nature however and we weren't seeing a consistant structure connecting from start zone to start zone. have a feeling persistent avalanching during the upcoming storm will be pretty pockety and inconsistent- could be frustrating. Saw a significantly stronger snow structure in areas with a deeper pack.