0430 temp. at 6350’ in Carnelian Bay: 25.5 deg. & 89% RH

0515 temp. at 7150’ Grouse Rock/Upper Ward TH: 20 deg.

Backcountry obs.:

As expected, systems over the past few days have dropped considerably more snow along the crest than points east. This morning, up to about 6″ of cold soft, wind groomed snow rested atop the snowpack. Tracks from previous days had been completely erased by recent winds. N. facing trees and sheltered zones hosted soft, moderately dense powder while exposed zones below treeline and along ridges in near treeline terrain had soft wind buff, board, and breakable crust.

Despite the wind and lackluster storms, the snow is still skiing great on N aspects. Soft, bouncy turns made up the majority of the descent, while a few scratchy crust turns added spice to the skiing in open areas within the last couple hundred vertical feet of the run.