Northwest through Northeast aspects appear to be holding the previous storms' snow, while other aspects were cooked dry previous to this week's storm.

The ground layer is bonded well, and remains encouraging but the crust that formed during the last week of October's rain is deteriorating. The crust is thick and heading to a sugary consistency. The past two storms have not bonded to this layer. During my ECT I was unable to compress through the late October crust. I'm no professional, but I am going to keep an eye on the health of the crust; with the caution that it may turn to a PWL as snow continues to load the layer. It is bridging and splitting the snowpack (see pictures and video).

I intentionally dug my pit on the wind loaded side of the ridge and did not see a significant separation between the wind loading and storm snow. After filling my pit I skied down the SLC side through some playful powder and fast running sluff as it separated from the mentioned crust.