Mt Judah

I toured up Mt Judah this afternoon to see how conditions had changed since I was last here a week or so ago, and to see if I could find evidence of a faceting snowpack.  

Patchwork of snow surface conditions based upon your micro-aspect and exposure to wind and sun.  Areas specifically sheltered and shadowed still had soft snow with near surface faceting evident with pole probing and skins slipping.  

I dug a pit in the same 8100' NE faceing sheltered area I did a few weeks ago.  It was a challenge to find a spot that hadn't obviously been wind or sun affected or too sheltered by trees.

HS 75cm.  Faceting was evident while digging the pit in the feel and sound of the softer and sugary near surface layers.  I was able to identify both the burried surface hoar and the graupel just below the surface wind crust, although both were significantly decomposed in this location.  Snow crystals in the fist hard near surface layer were clearly larger and more angular, and did not clump together when squeezed in a fist.  Lower layers of four finger snow had smaller more transitional grains, with fewer angles and more rounded surfaces.  Softer faceted snow at ground level was angular but smaller grains, and clumped together when squeezed.  

Southern aspects were significantly melted out.  Descending was a challenge.