Rain Crusts and Corn in the Red Lake, Frog Lake, Elephant's Back area

The snowpack in this area is similar to the snowpack in other parts of the forecast area. The surface rain crust was between 1 and 2 inches thick in most places. It was firm and very supportable on the northerly aspects and on any other aspects that had some shading. This icy crust makes for very loud and slippery conditions. Below this crust a layer of weak sugary facets rests on top of a much thicker and stronger rain crust. This second crust was anywhere from 10 inches to 18 inches thick. Tests on the faceted layer showed that it is very weak. Currently it is not a problem because the only thing on top of it is an icy rain crust. It could become more of an issue as the rain crust continues to break down and when more load accumulates on top of this layer.

On the other side of the ridge on more southerly aspects, some softening did occur. The sun and warm temperatures caused enough melting for 1-2 inches of corn snow to develop on these slopes. This softening occurred around 12 am and lasted till about 3 pm when things started to refreeze.