24 Hour Snow: 0" 72 Hour Snow: 2" Season Total Snow: 123" Depth at Gold Basin: 44"

Mountain temperatures are about 10° warmer then yesterday but we still got a good refreeze. Southwest winds overnight blew in the 10-15 mph range with gusts in the 20's. They'll be on the increase today ahead of a strong storm system and cold front that will move into the area this evening. Look for increasing clouds today with strong southwest winds blowing 25-35 mph with gusts as high as 50 mph. Temperatures will climb into the low 40's. Light snow should begin after midnight with continued windy conditions. The main event happens tomorrow although areas slightly north are favored. Winds will continue to crank and we could see 3-5 inches of snow.

The snow surface is pretty solid out there and Dave and I found travel to be fast and easy yesterday. We were even pleasantly surprised to find decent dust on crust conditions on smooth slopes. Last week's warm weather and recent cold nights have locked up the snowpack and made it more difficult to trigger an avalanche. Melt water has penetrated the snowpack to varying depths depending on aspect and elevation but cold, dry snow remains underneath on northerly aspects above about 11,000'. Snowpack depths vary widely. While many southerly aspects are thin or completely bare, anywhere from 4 to 8 feet of snow can be found on northerly aspects. Areas of concern remain in shallower snowpack areas on steep, northerly aspects right around treeline where layers of dry, faceted snow still exist beneath a slab.