3 to 7 Inches of New Snow in the Silver Peak Area

We wanted to see wind-loading and look at the old weak snow (Feb 14 facets) buried on some northerly aspects, so we went to Silver Peak. Remote sensors indicated that this area had received some of the highest new snow amounts. When we pulled into the parking lot, we found 2-3 inches of new snow. The new snow depth increased as we gained elevation with 3-4 inches around 7000 ft and 5-7 inches above 7500 ft. 

We stopped by a wind-loaded slope at about 7300 ft on our way. This slope allowed us to gather data about potential wind-loading higher on the peak. It had some signs of light wind scouring on its NW facing side and signs of wind loading (small cornices and drifted snow) on its N and NE facing sides. A ski kick above one of those loaded areas triggered a small fracture about 6 ft wide and a few inches deep. The small cornices were also fragile. 

We continued up into terrain where we had found weak facets on previous trips. We probed around until we found a spot where they felt weakest and dug a quick pit. Tests at this location yielded mixed results (ECTP and ECTN). We moved 15 ft away, and the facets felt less developed. Our test in that spot supported the observation (ECTN). We continued up probing along the way. We felt a couple of isolated areas where the facets felt very weak, but these were all very small and isolated. Most of our observations indicated that this weak layer continues to gain strength. Ski cuts on sheltered slopes also did not trigger any signs of slab instability.
 
On top of the ridge in more exposed terrain, we could see that the W winds had lightly scoured some slopes and loaded the more NE aspects. Ski cuts on small wind-loaded features did trigger some cracking (3-6 inches in depth), but no wind slabs released. We avoided larger wind-loaded slopes. While we did not see much blowing snow, there was still plenty of snow available for transport if the winds increase.

During our tour, we experienced light snow showers, sun filtering through the clouds, and a variety of wind speeds. The weather started cold this morning and got steadily warmer. By the time we left the area, the snow had started to warm up in sunny spots.