Mid 20's F Overcast snowing lightly: S1 am, snow stopping early afternoon, calm
Observation: Hatcher Pass
Location: Gold Mint Trail Head
AAS instructor practice session for rescue and level one snow profile instruction.
Weather
Snow surface
New snow.
Snowpack
There was 5cm of new snow on top of 10 cm of facets resting on a degrading m/f layer of 10 cm. Below that 10 cm of facets to a (rain?) crust (clear, lens like) on top of 15 cm of basal facets. Noteworthy were the perk columns I found between the top M/F (degrading) layer and the lower rain crust. Numerous CT and ECT results confirmed the absence of clues with a weak snowpack, moderate to poor structure, and low propagation potential.
I looked, and asked others to look for any signs of surviving (buried) surface hoar , but none were found in our sites...perhaps in a more protected spot?