The March dust crust remained about 30cm below the snow surface, but became increasingly difficult to find higher than 8000ft. Large grain (0.5+cm) graupel sat just above the crust at low elevations, with graupel decreasing in size but still present atop the crust higher up. Hand shears yielded clean and easy breaks at the new/old snow interface. We dug a couple pits on a N aspect at 8700ft. One yielded ECTN18 down 35cm x2, as well as ECTP21 and ECTP22 down 35cm. The other yielded CT22 down 35cm and ECTX. We were a bit surprised at these results, as the propagation occurred in a right side up snowpack (F to 1F in the upper 50cm) at an interface that was not obvious. It occurred between two layers of 4F snow at what seemed to pass for the dust crust at that elevation.

There was a natural cycle mid-morning on steep northerly aspects in the top 4-8 cms of storm snow above 7,500' with long-running sluffs and debris piles up to 45 cms deep.

Cornices were sensitive and have grown large along exposed ridgelines.

Photo of some of the 5 mm graupel that can be found in lower elevations.