Feb Facets Still Lurking Deep in the Snowpack with Corn Conditions on the Surface.

Snow surfaces softened by 11 am on NW-N-NE-E aspects in this area. 2 to 4 cm of soft wet corn snow existed on top of a supportable melt-freeze crust on these aspects by that time. Boot penetration was only about 3 to 5 cm on the northerly aspects and closer to 8 to 10 cm on the E aspects by noon. 

Well below the surface the Feb. facet layer still existed on NW-N-NE aspects. Probing on these aspects revealed a softer layer buried between 130 to 150 cm below the surface. A full snowpit on a N aspect (see attached pit) showed this softer layer to be the Feb. facet layer. Observations and data indicated that the snow above this layer is very strong. Actually getting enough force through this strong upper 150 cm of snow would take a very large trigger, but tests did still indicate that if the Feb. facets do break fractures could travel through that layer.