Morning cloud cover at Carson Pass

We went back to Forestdale today, but waited longer to get started than yesterday. Leaving the Red Lake parking area at 9am, the trail to Forestdale was already soft enough to reduce the snowmobile overheating issues we had yesterday. Right out of the parking area, I stepped off the trail into undisturbed snow under tree cover, and was happy to find it strong and supportable. By the time we got to Forestdale Divide, thin cloud cover was acting to prevent maximum solar input, and this opened the window for quality conditions longer than if the skies were clear (I kept a layer on today that I removed early in the day yesterday). Later in the morning, just around the time I was worried it would contribute to greenhousing, the cloud cover dissipated. We traveled on N, NE, and E aspects, working from more sunny to less sunny, and found a thin layer of corn snow over a supportable crust until our departure at noon.

Pic 1: Morning cloud cover that cleared around 11:30am.

Pic 2: On an E aspect around 10am, the surface was just soft enough for ski and track penetration. My partner, who weighs 350lbs less than the snowmobile, was skiing on a similar aspect at this time, and reported 1" of soft snow on the surface.

Pic 3: The circled piece of cornice, about 6ft diameter, was not present upon our departure yesterday, so it must have broken off yesterday afternoon. The rest of the cornice remained intact until our departure today, and there are much larger intact cornices in the area.

Pic 4: Still a deep snowpack in certain areas, but elsewhere the coverage is getting thin. Forestdale Divide proper is mostly windward, so lots of sharp rocks are beginning to show through, and safe routes becoming circuitous.

Pic 5: A glide crack on an E aspect at 9500ft. I've looked through photos from the past week and can't find an image of this particular slope, but I don't remember seeing this glide crack prior to today.