Hood - any snow beta from today anyone?

North aspects at and below treeline skied really good on Friday. South aspects on Saturday at and above treeline were mediocre at best.

2/22/14 NE aspect ~5600 elev and below skied well being protected from the sun exposure. On the tour in exposed aspects had a light breakable crust, hard and windblown but the same was heavy muk on the way out. After a few yo-yo's we left about 1:30pm. Snow was consolidated powder no failures on pit tests (CT30, ECTX). ~1 meter of new snow down to the prior weekends rain crust.

Today skinned up to Illumination saddle. At 11 am skied back over to the groomed skin track across choppy sastrugi. There were a couple pockets of wind-deposited powder on the track, and a surprising number of people schlepping uphill (despite high winds and poor snow quality). Sticky rain crust down low. 

Overall, sucky survival skiing, but good to get out with mates and beats a day at the office.

Thanks everyone - went to Zig Zag today - toured at tree level and then up through the sastrugi to upper rim across from Mississippi Head (hidden from view in the photo).  Then accessed the lower canyon via the ridge you can see in the upper right of my tracks.  The upper canyon was good but down in the trees of the lower canyon (from where this photo was taken) I hoped it would still hold fluff but was greeted with warming muck and soft slab.  Stability was good, no pinwheels, no cornices have fallen yet, and no propagation from the crust/slab covering.  Good thing I started from the t-line parking lot at 7:30 because by 11 it was 32 and getting warmer.