Dust on crust at Elephant's Hump

More new snow in South Lake Tahoe than observed near Carson Pass today. We left town with a few inches of new accumulation, and arrived to a dusting at the Red Lake parking area, with a few inches in wind deposited areas near treeline (we did not go under Frog Lake ridge or other typically very wind loaded areas where there may have been more). Some localized cracking was observed by stomping on skin track switchbacks, but could not be achieved without first undercutting to break up the January rain crust. Winds were strong out of the NE, with continual wind transport observed.

Pic 1: An inch of new snow on top of the January rain crust, with facets below. On wind sheltered slopes, there was also a thin layer of facets above the January rain crust.

Pic 2: In another location, we found a complex crust/facet combo near the surface, but still with minimal new snow loading on top. Note the blowing snow on the surface.

Pic 3: Very localized cracking after first undercutting to break up the January rain crust.