Cold dry snow; signs of wind transport

Great short ride at blue lakes. In the trees the snow was cold, dry, and made for good riding. See photo 2, taken at ~8,000 ft.

Our group stayed out of avalanche terrain as we had beginners without any avalanche training. 

In less sheltered areas, there was some evidence of wind transport, even in below tree line areas. See photo 1, from a small east facing hill at 7,800 ft. Snow could also be seen blowing across the road at times. 

Visibility varied throughout the morning from 1km+ down to ~100m. 

An "informal" snow pit from a snowmobile trench revealed an icy, finger hard layer ~30cm deep.