Quick report
Good skiing and dry snow on all elevations above 6000 ft (did not ski North facing aspect post assessment). Skiing between 6000-5400 feet becomes progressively wetter, and finally turns into a wet gunk (still skiable tho) below 5400ft. Able to continuously ski down to approximately 4600 ft before intermittent transitioning on the ski out. Overall, no evidence of new natural avalanche activity today. Some evidence of older rollerballs, etc., but no other obvious natural activity.
Weather
- Cloud Cover
- obscured
Sky obscured. Raining at lower elevations early in day and intermittently snowing at higher elevations (Graupel). Continuous moderate to strong winds from the West.
Snowpack
Multiple assessments made on all elevations throughout travel. Above 6000ft the snow was dry. Multiple cornice drops and ski cuts made on West and North facing terrain above 6000ft with no fracture initiation, including steep North-facing terrain at ~7000ft. While on belay, a ski cut was make on a steep North facing slope at 6,900ft, and with multiple bounces and applying as much pressure as possible, this yielded no signs of instability. Thereafterward, at the same location, a profile was conducted: Profile 1: Just beneath a high ridge on steep north-facing terrain Time: 1330 Elevation: 6,900ft Aspect: Due North Incline: 54 degrees HS: 160cm From top down: 0-25cm down: 4F 25-45cm down: 1F 45-60cm down: Weak sugary moist facets 60-75cm down: Fist 75 cm down: Pencil to Finger -CT12 Q1 SP 60cm down on weak faceted layer-fist interface -ECTP15 Q1 SP 60cm down on same interface. -Both the compression tests and extended column tests resulted in true sudden planer fractures in which the entire block (both CT and ECT) instantaneously dropped with the final tap of these loading steps. The compilation of results in combination with the known persistent weak layers in North facing terrain limited further travel on these aspects. Profile 2: A second profile was conducted as well. This was just over a subalpine ridge in an open area: Elevation: 6,200ft Aspect: Due South Incline: 25 Degrees HS: 260cm From top down: 0-25cm: Fist 25-40cm: 1F- 40-50cm: Pencil 50-60cm: Fist 60-70cm: 1F 70cm down: 1F+ (not assessed to ground) -CT22 Q3 BRK at 50cm down -ECTX