Dust on mostly crust at Powerhouse

Mostly dust on crust conditions found on Powderhouse Peak this morning. Less than an inche of new snow was present on top of soft and wet old snow below about 8500 feet. Above 8500 feet new snow increased to about 3 inches of new on top of very firm frozen crust. These dust on crust conditions made for challenging skinning. Above tree line in exposed areas large wind features were present, but only a small amount of new snow was present on these features and didn't display much evidence of wind slab character. Although it was snowing during my time in the area, snow was not sticking to the Hwy and it the road surface was wet and free of snow. 

Photo 1: Less than an inch of new snow just below 8000 feet.

Photo 2: Above tree line there was very minor cracking in wind loaded areas.

Photo 3: Small cohesive chunks broke on test slopes, but no larger propagation observed.