Far NE Mt. Lola observations

Touring into the Far NE ridge of Mt. Lola today we encountered a mix of cold snow in the shade and some wet snow in the sun. As in other areas the snowpack was at least moderately faceted top to bottom with the most pronounced faceting in the upper snowpack. As in some other areas, weak chains of faceted snow crystals were observed near surface. Well shaded northerly aspects continue to escape any surface melt due the low sun angle this time of year. E aspects traveled often held a thin melt-freeze crust on the surface with faceted snow below. Despite the faceting, the snowpack in this area remains supportable above 7,000'. The layers within the snowpack remain well bonded to each other. The big concern is the weak near surface facets that would likely not support significant new snow loading.