Soft Snow on Lincoln Ridge

We went to Lincoln Ridge to monitor the weak snow near the surface on N aspects. While skinning up to the N-facing terrain we wanted to target,  we encountered a variety of inconsistent snow surfaces. Breakable crusts existed in some places and patches of softer snow in other nearby spots. The sheltered N-facing slopes seem to hold the most consistent soft snow, so we filed that nugget of information away in our heads to remember later. When we got to a good pit location, we found conditions similar to January 28. The snow near the surface continues slowly getting weaker. We will keep tracking this layer during the dry spell, but it won't become a problem until more snow falls. After our pit, we continued up to the ridge where wind-affected surfaces were everywhere. We also noticed significant melting on the sunny southerly-facing slopes. Remembering the patches of soft snow we had found on our way up, we moved over to a sheltered N aspect for the descent and found more consistent snow in that area.