Grand Mesa

Snowpack

75 cm HS at the top of "main street" at mesa creek (west mesa creek) mid day 11/25, with ~30 cm of new 'fist hard' snow sitting on top of a 10cm '1F hard' crust that easily collapsed revealing 30cm of '4F hard', faceted grains including ~2-3mm large depth hoar crystals near the snow/ground interface. Ski penetration varied from ~20-30cm in the new storm snow with minor localized collapsing observed underneath, boot penetration was clear down to the ground (75cm). In more sheltered terrain the 10cm crust midway through the snowpack that was observed elsewhere was absent, providing a more rightside up structure (F- -> F -> F+) albeit still held weak snow throughout. In areas of thinner coverage, this led to poor skiing / log and rock hopping and dodging other undergrowth obstacles that is typical for this region this time of year. In areas with adequate coverage and stability (open, grassy, low angled slope) the new snow was light and soft and sprayed nicely.