Observation from Red Lake Peak

Conditions were more interesting than fun on Red Lake Peak today, but enjoyable turns were still findable on sunny slopes. Winds varied but moderate gusts seemed to be increasing as I left just after noon. Beautiful 6-10mm Surface Hoar was widespread at the lowest elevations but wasn't observed above 7800 feet. 

Photo 1: Surface Hoar right next to Hwy 88, growing with road grime mixed in.

Photo 2: Surface Hoar growing in lowest clearing along Crater Lake road. It quickly decreased in size and prevalence as elevation (and solar aspect) increased. I didn't observe any on north facing slopes above Crater Lake. 

Photo 3: Previous loose wet activity. There were several examples of similar activity in this area. Athough soft snow was findable on sunny SE slopes, the freeze, supportability of upper snowpack, and corniness were variable. 

Photo 4: Impressive to see this smooth icy sheen on a north facing slope. I was surprised by the surface crust on north facing slopes above Crater Lake. It was strong but brittle and sitting on a very weak layer of Near Surface Facets. 

Photo 5: Hand hardness on a north facing slope near 8800 feet. Of most interest was the 1 cm crust at the surface sitting on 10 cms of fist hard Near Surface Facets.

Photo 6: The crust was strong but brittle and I struggled to cut it with my saw without breaking it. It also moved very easily on the NSFs below it.