Corn and Deep Wet Snow on Chickadee Ridge

1 to 2 in of soft wet surface snow formed on sun-exposed SE-S-SW aspects by 10:30 am this morning. This wet snow rested on top of a thin but still ski supportable melt-freeze crust. Below the melt-freeze crust was a layer of deep moist snow. By 11 am ski cuts on test slopes started to produce pinwheels up to 1 ft in diameter and stepping off of my skis resulted in sinking into wet snow to my boot tops at 8500 ft. By 12:00 my skis started sinking into wet snow 4 to 6 inches deep and pinwheels up to 16 inches in diameter started to occur at 8800 ft.

On the drive back we noticed loose wet avalanches that may have occurred today on the SE face of Incline Lake Peak and skier triggered loose wet avalanches on the E side of Fireplug that likely happened yesterday afternoon.

North aspects held firm and breakable crusts on the snow surface up to 8800 ft. on Chickadee ridge in the morning. By 1 pm these also started to soften leaving wet sticky surface snow behind.