Quick report
- Red Flags
- Recent Avalanches, Heavy Snowfall, Wind Loading, Cracking, Poor Snowpack Structure
All obs pertain to middle elevation band, N facing terrain. I did not observe much instability within the new snow. Contrary to yesterday and the day before, I did not experience any collapsing while breaking trail in the area. I was able to kick small windslabs just barely off of the ridgeline, but they were quite small and manageable. I imagine the problem was more prevalent at the higher elevations.
I dug a pit at 41 degrees NE @8995' (image below). I was curious to see how the facets are doing particularly at a lower elevation in a region that does not receive quite as much snowfall as the central cottonwoods. Overall the facets were damp and surprisingly rounded. There was not much of a hardness transition (1F to IF-). I observed ECTX and did not notice any fractures within the new snow on compression tests.
Overall, snow conditions in the area I traveled seemed fairly solid; however, poor snowpack structure persists.