Wet snow and cold snow on Schallenberger Ridge

With strong N winds and cooler temperatures forecast for today, I opted for more sheltered lower elevation terrain on Schallenberger Ridge. North aspects still held a few inches of soft snow on the surface in open areas sheltered from the winds. This surface snow is slowly getting weaker (facetting) which makes for better travel conditions especially on lower angle slopes where you do not feel the firmer snow below the few inches of soft surface snow. However, if this trend continues it could become a future weak layer when snow returns to the forecast area. There is also a thin crust near the surface with another thin layer of weak snow under it. This weak snow/ thin crust / weak snow sandwich is only about 3-4 inches thick. Below that top 3-4 inches of weaker snow, the snowpack is well bonded and dense (see pit).

Soft snow also existed on the SE-S aspects by mid-morning below 7400 ft. The direct sunshine provided enough warming for 2-3 inches of soft wet corn snow to form on the surface of these slopes. Ski cuts on some steeper rollovers did not produce any roller balls or other signs of loose wet instability. While wet snow did form on these slopes, it never got much deeper than 3 inches, and the snow below that remained supportable into the afternoon.