Weak and shallow snowpack at Crater Lake

Snow cover was sufficient for travel on skis from hwy 88 along the dirt road to Crater Lake, with a few bare patches in the sunnier spots along the road. Above Crater Lake, the snow surface was aged, with a variety of crusts and wind deposits on the surface, with faceting snow to the ground below. The powder baskets on my poles were easy to push to the bottom of the shallow snowpack everywhere I tried, and we had to be very careful with similarly deep ski penetration. There was a dusting of recent graupel on top of the older facets in several areas, but nowhere did I find evidence of a slab above the facets. 

Pic 1: Panorama of the snow coverage above Crater Lake. 

Pic 2 and graph: Only 35cm of snow on a NE aspect above the lake. There were deeper localized deposits, but this was about average for a shaded slope.