The new snow got deeper as I drove south along Highway 145 towards Rico. At the trailhead, I measured just over 10". At 11,000', I measured 15". All in all, a good storm for this area, with more snow falling off and on throughout the day in between periods of muted sunshine. I traveled mostly below treeline on northeast-facing terrain and found a snowpack that increased significantly with elevation, ranging from 70cm to over 200cm within just 1500' of elevation gain. The new snow was right-side-up with no slab character in wind-sheltered terrain.

Marguerite Creek, north of Rico

I noticed a very small Storm Slab avalanche on a steep northeast-facing slope near treeline.

I dug on a northeast aspect at 11,000'. The snowpack was two meters deep. The top meter of snow was all the snow we've received since Valentine's Day, which has settled into a series of right-side up slabs. The bottom meter of the snowpack was composed of all the old snow on the ground before Valentine's Day, composed of larger faceted grains and depth hoar near the ground. If you ignore the bottom half, the snowpack here actually looks pretty good. The top meter is stiffening and rounding from recent warm weather, creating some strength in the midpack. But those old faceted layers are only buried a meter deep, and in shallower areas of the forest, I felt two large slope-scale collapses, that likely failed on the older deeper weak layers. The dragon is lurking and our best hope is that it continues to get buried deeper.

Off and on snow showers with maybe an inch of two of accumulations during my tour. Thin clouds meant the sun poked through at times. Cold temperatures in the shade and breezy winds. No major wind transport observed.