Corn on Rose Knob, but not supportable all day.

We spent the morning on Rose Knob Peak gauging overnight snow surface refreeze and the progression of snow surface melt on E-SE-S aspects between 7,400' and 9,600'. Upon our arrival we found a good refreeze of the top 15-16cm (~6 in) of the snow surface from radiational cooling and near freezing air temperatures last night. By 10:15 am, snow surface melt was progressing at all elevations on E-SE-S aspects. Open slopes held the best refreeze with still supportable but less thick refreeze in treed areas. Reasonably well developed and supportable corn conditions were present up until noon, but melt rates indicated that the supportable ice layer in the upper snowpack would become unsupportable during the afternoon. By 11:45 am, conditions in treed terrain at ~7,600' were becoming unsupportable with a 60-90cm HS (2 to 3 foot base) mostly F hard with a thin layer of 4F hard lingering at the base of the melt-freeze surface upper layer. Conditions were moving towards the possibility of human triggered loose wet avalanches during the afternoon hours.

We experienced minor amounts of small skier triggered roller balls while descending. No new loose wet avalanches observed in this area prior to our departure around 12:30 pm, but becoming possible in the afternoon.