Facets and crusts in Glacier

Enjoyed the tail end of the inversion with a day off tour in the land of well-maintained trails. Objectives were to soak up some sun and observe the snow surface before an active weather pattern returns to our area Thursday.

• Widespread faceted snow surfaces exist from the valley floor to upper elevations. On steep sunny aspects, the recent sun has destroyed some of this.
• Impressive surface hoar growth noted at middle elevations associated with the inversion cloud deck.
• The well-documented rain crust was softening by the afternoon on steep sunny mid and upper elevation slopes.  
• A melt-freeze crust has formed on steep upper elevation sunny slopes. This crust extends above the elevation where the rain crust disappears.
• Recent rollerballs and small loose wet sluffs were noted on steep sunny aspects at mid and upper elevations.
• No signs of instability observed while skiing slopes up to 40 degrees at mid and upper elevations.