Hard Slabs and Warming Snow on Caslte Peak and Andesite

Signs of yesterday's NE wind event abounded in the Andesite and Castle area. As soon as we left the trailhead we saw debris on the snow surface and signs of scouring. Even in the thick trees on the east side of Andesite the NE winds had scoured and sculpted the snow surface. The scouring and sculpting become more and more pronounced as we ascended. Wind scouring even extended over the top of the ridge and down the west side for a little bit. We did find hard NE wind deposited slabs up to 2+ ft thick on some of the W aspects of Andesite Peak. Ski cuts, jumps, and kicks on these slabs barely penetrated the surface where they were thick. In areas where they were less than 6 inches thick, they behaved like a breakable crust. These wind slabs were resting on softer, less dense snow and some snowpit tests did show possible signs of instability (CT 18 SC) while others did not (ECTN x2). 

We continued across Andesite Ridge to Castle Peak. The sunny E-SE facing slopes on Castle Peak had started to warm up and the snow has started to get wet. Ski cuts on these slopes started triggering roller ball and pinwheels around noon. The snow also started to get wet and sticky on these aspects at about that time.