Observation from Emerald Bay

Found soft snow on sunny aspects above Emerald Bay today. Understandably there has been a ton of skier traffic in this zone with the firm skin tracks, icy boot packs, and near moguls associated with that. Around noon snow that had been receiving sun and was currently in the sun was soft. It was impressive how quickly the shadows were growing at midday and how quickly snow became very firm once it was touched by shadow. Our main ski descent was a SW aspect and the skier's right side was coming into the shade and quite firm, while the left side was soft. Winds near the summit were light but cool and this also kept the snow fairly firm for the upper 500 or so feet. Between 8500-7500 the snow was decent corn but below 7500 it became softer and more obstacles were present in the snow pack. 

Most of my tour was on sun exposed terrain but I did cross a shady north facing near treeline ridge near 9000 feet where soft near surface facets were present. The depth of these NSFs varied significantly but ranged from 1 to 15 cms, and made for some impressively slippery skinning. 

Photo 1: Minimal boot penetration on south facing open terrain at 11:15.

Photo 2: Some soft snow found on shadier, partially treed terrain closer to 9000 feet.

Photo 3: At 12:00 this SW line had a significant shadow moving across it.

Photo 4: Snow coverage below about 7000 feet became less consistent and travel became a touch more adventurous.