Soft, Supportable, Wet Snow on Slide Mtn.

Driving over to Mt. Rose we noted the sunny skies and thought that this morning sun and warm temperatures may have allowed some of the sun-exposed slopes to soften. We changed our plan and skinned up Slide Mt. on the N side to try and descend a S facing slope and see if there was any wet snow on these slopes. While skinning up the northerly aspects, we found some small patches of soft snow and some wet sticky snow in the sheltered areas. Once we got into more exposed areas, wind-scoured surfaces abounded. At the top of the mountain, we did experience some small snow flurries that only lasted for about 10 minutes. As we moved over to more SE and S aspects we found smooth surfaces that had softened some. This softening was likely a result of the morning sun (which was now hidden behind mostly cloudy skies) combined with a weak overnight refreeze. Regardless, we found 1 to 2 inches of soft, wet snow on top of a thin but supportable crust between 9600 ft and 8200 ft. Below 8200 ft the snow became less supportable and ankle to boot-top deep wet snow existed.   

Photo 1: After a period of morning sun the clouds rolled back into the area around 11 am. It looked like periods of sun also occurred in the afternoon hours. 

Photo 2: Ankle to boot-top deep wet snow on solar aspects below 8200 ft.

Photo 3: Below 8000 ft. numerous shrubs and bushes still remained exposed.