Spring-like Conditions on Schallenberger Ridge

Schallenberger Ridge served up a variety of conditions on its various aspects. As we skinned in on the north-facing slopes we found a few inches of soft snow on top of a crust. In some places the crust supported us and in others, we would break through it into softer snow. We did notice surface host on the snow surface on many open north aspects. We decided to dig a quick test out to check out how the snow is changing below the surface. Our pit revealed a thick strong crust with will consolidated snow below it. In the pit, we found a thin decomposing layer of surface hoar right below a very thin train crust near the top of the snowpack. 

We left the dust on a variable crust on the north side and went over the ridge to take a look at the south facing slopes. On these sunny aspects, about an inch of soft wet snow had formed above a firm supportable base. These spring-like conditions were consistent on SW-S-SE aspects through our departure at 1 pm. We traversed back across some east aspects and found the snow on those aspects to be wet and sticky in most places. While we did see wet snow on the surface, we did not see any signs of wet snow instabilities.