Snow Stake: 21"
Weather: Sunny, calm (mostly), 34 degrees
Skied up to Swastika lake for lunch. It was pretty slow going, not much bottom to the snow.  The drift at the northeast end of the lake was big but when I found a piece of flagging I had tied to a tree in January of 97 it was 25 feet above my head. Returned to parking lot about 2:30 pm and went down to ski area for some lift served tele turns and helped sweep.

Snow Pit:

Location: Just below Swastika Lake at about 10,000'
Snow Depth: 34"  Slope: north facing 20 degree
12"  Loose  snow layer on top of
5 "   crust layer on top of
remainder of depth hoar.

This was a shady, sheltered slope that looked good but punched completely through with every attempt to turn. The top 12" shovel sheared with moderate effort. The remainder cut loose with a little more effort at the ground level.I think I'll stay on the trails and make my tele turns at the ski area for awhile.