Changes as the storm rolls in

We toured up to 7000' on westerly aspects of Elk Mountain to see the changes as the storm rolls in.  We did not venture above that elevation because light to moderate snow and moderate to strong winds conspired to create very poor visibility and very cold wind chill.

• Precipitation rate increased throughout the day at all elevations (from S-1 at 10AM to S2 at 2PM). Wind speeds increased with elevation (from Light at lower and middle elevations to Moderate with Strong gusts at upper elevations). Winds also picked up in general and we noted light blowing snow off of the roof of the Fielding Cabin on our way out in the early afternoon.
• Fresh wind slabs were developing on westerly aspects from NE winds. By Noon drifts were 3-4" deep and soft at upper elevations. They are developing on top of a variety of weak surfaces, from sun and wind crusts to weak, faceted snow.  We had isolated areas of localized cracking in these slabs just under our feet.
• We found the rain crust from last Tuesday up to about 6000'.  We found both preserved surface hoar and sugary faceted snow on top of that crust and the new snow was falling on top of that weak interface. 
• The snowpack around the summer trail of Elk Mountain is one of the thinnest and weakest I've seen this season. We dug a quick test at 5800' to confirm the poor structure and got hard, but propagating results on facets near the ground.  Around the ridgeline the snowpack has been scoured almost to the ground in many places with hard old drifts on typically leeward aspects. 
• We skied concave and planar, anchored slopes with the deepest snow cover we could find. We rode those kind of slopes with angles steeper than 35 degrees with only minor sluffing and the breakable crust to worry about by 2PM. I expect conditions to deteriorate quickly.