Firm Frozen Surfaces in Blackwood Canyon

Firm frozen snow existed on all aspects during our entire tour today. On the more wind-scoured and open NE-E slopes, exposed ice crusts existed. The frozen crust remained boot and ski supportable while we were out. It was about 25 cm (10 inches) thick. Below the crust, 30 cm (12 inches) of wet snow still existed. The crust showed no signs of melting as of noon. We did find a few small isolated patches of softer snow on some sheltered slopes. This softer snow was less than 1 cm deep (less than .5 inches). It came in the form of some leftover new snow that still dusted the surface or as slightly softened rain crust in tree covered areas. We did not see any signs of snowpack instability. 

Clouds increased during our tour and some very light snow showers started around noon.