Small Wind Slabs on Mt. Rose

Observations on Mt. Rose showed a right side up snowpack with lighter, softer, colder snow on the surface and more dense snow as one gets deeper in the snowpack. Hand pits and observations indicated that the snowpack continues to consolidate and settle. Snow surfaces on all aspects remained soft on all aspects for most of the day. On the sun exposed aspects below 9000 ft, the snow surface started to be slightly more dense and showed signs of small thin sun crust beginning to form in some sunny areas in the afternoon. On exposed near and above treeline terrain, the snow surface showed evidence of wind loading from last night's west winds and some small cornices and wind slabs had formed on the NE-E-SE aspects. Ski kicks caused cornice pieces to break off, but those cornice pieces did not trigger signs of instability on the slopes below them. One previously undercut test slope did crack under the weight of a skier, but other slopes that were not undercut did not show signs of instability.