Warm and crusty around Blue Lakes

Warm and crusty day around Blue Lakes. We avoided Polaris Bowl and Lost Lakes, since the last time Travis went there it was quite firm and probably only worse after yesterday's mist event. Unfortunately that's the best way to gain elevation in this area, so we were unable to see if there was an elevation limit to the mist. Instead, we went back to where Tasha dug a profile on 1/9 to see if anything changed. A stream crossing that was frozen on 1/9 was just running water today, so we couldn't access the exact same site, but we were able to dig nearby (at 7800ft). Tests indicated that propagation was still possible on the Dec 11th facets. We also dug a quick profile on a NE aspect at 8225ft (pin drop) that had similar results. At the first site, we were able to trigger the Dec 11th facets with two ECTs, though with harder taps towards the end of the test. At the second site, we couldn't trigger the facets with an ECT, but a Deep Tap test showed Sudden Collapse results. Also at the first site, unlike on 1/9 there were no longer facets at the crust 6 inches down. At the second site, which was a colder slope, the crust/facet combo 6 inches down was still obvious and weak.

Pic 1: Previous tracks from 1/9, when the crossing was frozen and supportable.

Pic 2: Dec 11th facets towards the bottom of this profile. If you zoom in, you can see some small percolation tubes extending downward from the top of the facet layer. We think these are old perc tubes and unrelated to the recent warm weather.

Pic 3: Beating on columns of snow at our second profile site.

Profile graph: Wet/Moist snow to the crust 6 inches down, and no facets near this crust. ECTs are still propagating on the Dec 11th facets.