New Snow on Lincoln Ridge

3 to 5 inches of new snow had accumulated in the Yuba Pass area since yesterday. This low-density snow was light and unconsolidated and rested on top of a variety of old snow surfaces. We found soft old snow below the new snow on due N shady aspects. On slopes that had experienced previous warming (including some open N-NE aspects) or ENE wind scouring, a sometimes breakable sometimes supportable melt-freeze crust existed under the new snow. The new snow did not show significant slab characteristics in sheltered terrain or in more exposed areas where wind-loading had occurred. We did find some soft unconsolidated drifts of new snow up to 8-14 inches deep on N-NE aspects near the ridgeline. Ski cuts on test slopes and other general observations did not reveal any signs of wind slab instabilities in these more exposed areas. We also did not see any warming instabilities as skies remained mostly cloudy during our tour.