I hate to report finding well developed sugary snow or faceted crystals in a shady mid elevation area with generally shallow snow.

Photo taken 2-21-08 in lower Logan Canyon.  This is very weak snow that I'd hate to see overloaded by a stout slab.

In the forest, we also came across a good example of the powerful elastic properties of settled snow.

Today’s snow will probably stick to most of the available snow surfaces pretty well, but I’m not so sure about some.  Some slopes sport frost crystals or surface hoar, and on many it’s capping wind or warmth crusts.

Photo of surface hoar taken 2-20-08, Providence Canyon @ 8000'. 

The soft, shallow, re-crystallized “loud powder” on sheltered north facing slopes at all elevations is a mix of surface hoar and what we call near surface faceted snow.  This stuff has a notorious reputation for becoming a persistent weak layer once buried intact.