Scattered trending to overcast by late afternoon. S-1 precip falling by late afternoon. Winds blowing MgS/E, sifting a fair bit of snow around.
Was curious about 1/27 and 12/11 in this area. At 8,000' on ENE: HS=115cm. 11/27 down 45 cm under dense slab (1F at base). Presented as MFcr with thin layer of FC on top. Slab below is 4F and faceted down to 12/11 interface (down 80-90cm). 12/11 presenting as true DH, cupped, striated, some chained xtals up to 5mm. Repeated ECTs failed first on 1/27 and then 12/11 on next loading step. ECTP24 and 25, then ECTP 25 and 26. CPST and PST produced cut lengths in mid to upper 20s/100 END on 12/11(CPST 23 and 28, PST 26 and 28). Area that I dug in sees some wind, but snowpack felt and looked pretty homogenous and stratified.
Surface obs: 2/4-5 snowfall has been blown around and re-deposited everywhere. Seems like wind hasn't been digging too deeply into older snow yet (as of late-afternoon Saturday), but it looks like it is going to keep cranking. There is a stout, 2-3cm MFcr on southern third of the compass, with increasingly fragile crusts on the solar margins. We are heading into prime time season for MFcr/FC weak layers. Slides in Baker area on due souths are great evidence for this, anticipate this pattern shifting towards the solar margins as year progresses.