Observation: Wolf Creek Pass

We did not observe signs of rain at elevations above 9,000', but the new snow was quite dense. The snow surface became dense as the day progressed. We could not determine if there was a little bit of greenhousing occurring or if the density increase was just due to the rime event occurring. The new snow had about 1 inch of lower-density snow on top of 1" of higher-density snow and below the higher-density snow.

All of our party noted how the surface snow density was increasing throughout the day.

We were in the same location on Dec 31. The slab has become more developed, and the weak layer below the Christmas Eve Rain Crust (CERC) has become weaker. On Dec 31, we had a CT8 on that layer, and today it was a CT5.

Our concern with the snow revolves around the facets under the CERC. The new snow surface was damp, if it gets cold, this could form a breakable crust making for difficult travel.