North Side of Scott Peak Snow Pit

I went out to a north facing aspect today to see how the snow was holding up with the warm air temps we have had.  I also wanted to dig to the ground to observe the basal facets and see how the healing process was going.  The warm temperatures have definitely affected the snow quality.  Two days ago, I was able to ski good, cold, recycled powder on north aspects at the same elevation, but the warmth has finally affected the cold snow even with the low sun angle of the solstice.  

I dug a 155 cm pit to the ground and found a very strong snow structure.  The snow went from fist hardness at the surface down to pencil where the rain crusts were and then back to 1 finger for the basal facets.  The facets are rounding and strengthening well.  I found a buried surface hoar layer 80 cms up from the ground but it was unreactive in tests.  It wouldn't even shear when I pried on the back of the column after I performed a CT.  It only failed when I dropped the entire column on the ground.  

My test results were 2 x CTN and 1 x DTN.  

The snow pack continues to gain strength with ~150 cms on the ground and mild temperatures. We are well set up for the next storm, although we will have to see what happens with the temperature during the precipitation.  Hopefully it finishes cold and we are skiing pow!