Observation: Greeley Bowl

Weather: Temperature at 8700' was 33 degrees at 10:00 AM when we left the car. Low visibility with moderate snowfall rates of 1"/hr or more persistent throughout the tour. Noted SW winds 5-10 mph gusting well in excess of 40 mph at 10kft ridgelines. Relatively quiet on N/E facing slopes below with just a light breeze. Snow level did not drop much (approx 7500-8000ft) through the morning/into the early afternoon on the drive up and down the canyon. Collins showing 2" new snow with 0.13" water though likely underestimating due to wind.

Headed out to the Greeley bowl area with low skiing expectations and mostly to get an eye on snow coverage as the storm rolled in. Upper elevation aspects with a touch of N were still holding snow quite well while solar aspects were melted to bare ground. The dense new snow did not appear to be bonding all that well the the melt freeze crust it was falling on.

Digging on a N facing slope at 9800' we found HS 70cm, with HN 10cm and multiple melt freeze crusts spaced within the snowpack. There appeared to be some signs of faceting in the upper snowpack below the melt freeze crust.