Surface Hoar/Spotty Crust

Quick tour northwest of WMR.

• We found a thin layer of slightly wind stiffend snow at the surface on south aspects. It was soft and barely cracked for us on test slopes.
• Drifts on northeast aspects were a little thicker and stiffer. We didn't find slopes on these aspects to test the slab. (See snowpack tab for more info on weather conditions.)
• We dug to test the surface hoar on a sheltered northeast facing slope. On that slope, the crust that we found everywhere else under the newer snow was variable. It was visible, but very soft and breakable in our pit. We got consistent propagation with moderate and hard force on the surface hoar. (See photo)
  • Terrain with the combo of preserved buried surface hoar and an unsupportable crust is the terrain I'm still avoiding when it comes to the persistent slab problem.

We skied sheltered southeast-facing slopes with 4-6 inches of great soft snow on top of the hard supportable crust.