Quick report, as much for skiers as forecasters.

Aspect and canopy were the key players for ski conditions in the Twin Lakes area.

Aspect: North on Heavens Gate the conditions remained phenomenal through the afternoon; deep, dry and floaty. A slight change in aspect changed the situation though; by 4pm a crust was refreezing on east. South was pushy and heavy, particularly in the concavities that heat up from reflected solar and reduced wind. Several small wet slides initiated in the rock bands above the SE facing Hwy to Heaven Traverse, and the whole slope was pocked with the tracks of roller balls. Day certainly cooler than many we've had, but dry new snow is a different beast than the older melt freeze surfaces. Dry loose (presumably) sluffing on north Chutes in Wolverine.

Canopy: Open trees must have acted as the net for blowing snow. While the branches themselves were only thinly coated (with just enough precip to show white graupel frosting on the north sides, icicles on the south), the terrain in sparsely treed areas saw a whole different storm than the leeward slopes. I imagine this: wind-blown snow ripping across the landscape and then dropping out of suspension where it slowed in the trees. This effect especially noteable skiing southwest facing Freeland. Skis kept scraping the buried crust on the steep open slopes, but a tuck into treed areas changed the sound from scratchy to silent. Northwest facing Patsey Marley combined north with canopy and was a true low-angle pleasure.

Depth and hardness of crust below the graupel varied from impenetrable-by-pole to easily perforated, but was supportable everywhere I skied. Seemed well bonded to new snow despite graupel layer.