Cloudy and windy at Carson Pass

Cloudy and windy afternoon at Carson Pass, though warm ambient temps were still enough to cause surface wetting and weakening. Ski penetration was never more than a few inches deep and wasn't very dependent on aspect. Pole penetration was more dependent on aspect, and even with powder baskets was often deeper than ski penetration by about 1ft. This seemed directly related to the previous strength of the old mid-March strong snow, so on more N and E aspects the surface snow was easy to push my pole basket through, with wet and weak snow about 1ft down. On more S and W aspects the old March layer was more difficult for me to push my pole basket through, but the snow below it was still wet and weak. 

Glide cracks were beginning to show in several areas, and cornices remained large with only a few small recent failures visible. Some recent wet loose activity was observed initiating from rocks.