Huntington Ravine

The forecast team traveled into Huntington Ravine today to assess the sensitivity and distribution of softer wind slabs. Temperatures were in the mid teens F and skies were broken but often obscured from view with blowing snow and strong winds out of the west. Wind scouring and wind texture was seen throughout middle elevation terrain, however we were unable to see start zones within gullies because of blowing snow and fog. 

At 4400 feet elevation, at the buttress of Odell's and Pinnacle Gully, the team dug snow pits on northeast and east aspects. Snow at each pit location was over 9 feet deep and the snow density was consistently 1 finger or pencil + hardness. A generally stable snowpack was found during column tests (STN, CTN, CTH down 45cm, and ECT X). Travel throughout the terrain further supported the stable snowpack results.

It’s important to note that we did not find the soft wind slabs we were looking for to test sensitivity. However this doesn’t mean they don’t exist in isolated pockets in the terrain.

At lower elevations, ice crusts could be found with faceting crystals below. This was seen in areas of shallow snowpack where the wind had scoured down to the ice layer.

Take-aways:

• Strong winds overnight and this morning have scoured much of the terrain that had soft snow. 
• Stiff snow surfaces and old wind slabs on east and northeast aspects have little energy and are stubborn to unreactive in sensitivity. 
• Snow transport from 60-80 mph west winds was continuous throughout our time in the ravine.