Warm conditions and wet snow on Echo Peak.

 With the abatement of winds and increasing air temps we toured up to Echo summit to find warm corn like riding. Throughout the day there was not a whisper of wind and very warm even in the shade. Solar aspects were showing signs of warming right from the begininng of our tour in the flats and lower elevations. As we ascended the temperature continued to rise and surface snow on most aspects and elevations was softening. Depending on aspect, snow was anywhere from 3-4" thick of wet surface snow to at best, a couple inches of cold faceted snow on shaded North aspects.This contrast of cold and warm snow that did cause clumping and snow to stick on skins on the way up.  The snowpack depth within Angora and Echo area is showing more signs of melting snow with more exposing dirt, rocks, rock moats, tops of manazitas, and the infrequent post holing while walking around clusters of rocks. On the descent, snow remained soft on SE-S aspects even late into the afternoon on sunny slopes; however, this loose snow never showed signs of of any instabilities at any time.