The snowpack is quite thin below treeline. Probing around, I found depths of only 2-3 feet in most places. Outside of some thin sun or wind crusts, the snowpack is completely weak and faceted up to near treeline elevations. Coverage across the range is spotty or non-existent on many slopes. The further east you go, the less snow you get. Most slopes holding snow at higher elevations are either steep concave gullies or dish-shaped bowls where previous wind-loading occurred.

From Denny Creek to the Peak 12956 north of Hartenstein Lake

For the most part, the snowpack is faceted top-to-bottom. On a couple of southeast-facing slopes where a thin sun crust had formed, I got some minor collapses, showing that once we get a new slab, many slopes will be dangerous. I dug a pit on a north-facing slope around 11800' and found a barely supportable mid-pack slab that was supportable to skis, but not boots. Even though there are some harder layers (based on the hand hardness scale), each layer I found was composed of faceted grains. Though this area was below a ridge and showed signs of previous wind-loading, I found no intact slabs. Looking around the range, I would guess there are harder slabs in certain features or on isolated slopes, but the problem is not widespread.

Fairly calm day with a slight westerly breeze at ridgeline. Clouds were building throughout the day, with no precipitation.