Quick report
- Red Flags
- Wind Loading, Cracking
Headed up the Y with low threshold to bail. Found that it had clearly slid in the last several days and only about 4" on top was fresh, with large sections of the couloir having slid down to the dirt layer from awhile back. There were areas near the top with 1-2" wind slab on multiple aspects made slightly more complex by some additional wind loading in select places. There was enough loose new snow which, with the wind transported snow, made it such that most turns in the upper half of the couloir were accompanied by sluffing (but easily mitigated with pauses between turns). Couldn't get much to go with ski cuts with exception of one 1" small wind slab on a northeasterly facing aspect near the top in a small bowl like concavity; there was a propagating crack but the snow never actually slid (photo).
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>wind loading from several different directions, and clear signs of wind transport with about 1" to 2" slab near the top where the couloir opens up</p> <p>About 4" overnight 3/3 enough to refresh what clearly had slid at some point in the last several days. That along with some wind transported snow was enough to create sluffing with most turns, though slow moving and not consolidated or entraining much snow </p>