Cold, clear, and calm at Spooner

Amazing riding conditions at Spooner today, with fresh, cold snow at the surface but a mid-pack below it that was strong enough to support our snowmobiles most of the time. Aggressive moves or poorly timed throttle and we still broke through to the facets below. Numerous signs of settlement where the snow meets tree trunks, which coincided with negative results on trench checks, mitt pits, and shovel tilts within the top 2ft of snow. Trench checks indicated the facets are still weak at the bottom of the snowpack in this area. They were generally down 120cm from the surface, and the snowpack was 160-200cm on cold slopes above 8,000ft. Another round of surface hoar was observed on the surface all the way to ridgetops, which had no wind. In many places it appeared larger from morning to afternoon, though on the sunniest slopes it was decomposing. 

Our day was cut short by a catastrophic snowmobile failure (broken driveshaft) that required towing out. With no roads groomed yet, we were anxious to make it out by dark. It went better than expected, but I was unable to take the time to make more formal observations today.

Pic 1: Signs of settlement everywhere

Pic 2: Another round of surface hoar on the surface, all the way to ridgetops. Also note more settlement cones at the trees in the background.