Persistent Weak Layers at Jewel Basin

Snow depths ranged from less than a foot to as much as 3 feet. The snowpack consists of a relatively homogeneous mid to upper pack, with a mix of crusts or crust/facet layers near the ground. The buried "Halloween crust" is most widespread above ~5,500 feet on northerly and east aspects, we found good bonding above the crust (<.3mm rounds) and lurking facets of varying size and hardness below the crust on some higher, northerly slopes. A potentially scary start to the snowpack exists in the northeasterly-facing Jewel Basin start zones, where recent NE winds have scoured the snowpack back down to the Halloween crust, leaving it thin and faceting below. Snow depths in these areas were less than a foot, comprised of a 2-3 cm 1Finger crust capping Fist hard, 1mm facets. The crust showed minor cracking and collapsing under foot. These upper start zones could harbor future persistent slab problems if we go into a prolonged SW loading event. We also observed .5mm near surface facets forming in wind-sheltered slopes, worth monitoring with our next load. There were pockets of drifted and upside-down snow from last weekend's northeasterly winds, but we weren't able to produce any signs of instability from ski cuts or stomps.