SE winds are blowing at just a whisper this morning and will shift to the SW and blow at 5 MPH today. It is 26 degrees in Gold Basin and we will see a high temperature of 30 degrees. Cloud cover will increase throughout the day. Overnight skies will clear, and lows will drop to 20 degrees. The remainder of the week looks sunny with highs in the mid-20s.

It's now been almost a week since the last storm more than doubled our snowpack and built a dense slab over weak, sugary facets in the process. Outward signs of instability such as cracking and collapsing have decreased and Eric's party on Sunday observed none (see this observation from Tim Mathews). To be clear however, poor snowpack structure remains and stability tests remain reactive. This means you can still trigger an avalanche and neither myself, nor any of our regular observers are yet willing to step onto terrain steeper than 30 degrees.

Last week's dense snow has made for supportable skiing and riding and conditions are far better than they should be considering how little snow there is. Strong sun and warm temperatures have cooked sun-exposed slopes and they'll be crusted over this morning. Low-angle, northerly aspects remain fast and soft, and you can stay above many of the rocks, stumps, and dead fall. It's still low tide out there, however, so use caution.

Gold Basin SNOTEL site (10,000')