Little Ellis observations

I got out for a low-angle morning lap with some good folks this morning on Little Ellis and thought I'd send along a couple quick take homes:

1. We found 6 ~ 12" of new snow on our way up (and it skied excellently)

2. We saw no obvious signs of instability (cracking, collapsing, or recent avalanches)

3. We observed no wind during our outing (630 - 830am) and found no wind affected snow

4. Temperatures seemed inverted with slightly warmer temps at ridgetop vs. cool air pooled at the trailhead

5. Dug a quick handpit at the top transition and found a supportable pencil hard crust underneath the new fallen snow with well-developed large-grained facets below that... but the quick hole was in the upper scree/rock garden... so I'd expect it to harbor more basal faceted snow.