Surface hoar in Castle Valley

Our AIARE1 class spent the day in Castle Valley and on Andesite Peak today, practicing rescue and informal observations. In Castle Valley and other open areas on Andesite, we found extensive surface hoar, including some of the largest feathers I've ever seen - as large as about 3-4 centimeters in length (photos 1 and 2). I also noticed significant settlement of the snowpack since being there 3 days ago, indicated by many settlement cones on the trees in the area (photo 3). On my skis, I was only penetrating to about ankle-deep. Boot penetration was much greater. 

Sunny slopes on the south side of Andesite in the afternoon had a thin melt-freeze crust, and we saw some limited snow melt out of the trees that affected the skiing a bit in places. In general, shady slopes were still holding cold snow and skiing very well. 

In general the day was sunny with some thin high clouds, mild temps, and calm winds.