West Angle

Windy conditions have reshaped snow surfaces in the upper elevations. Exposed areas have been stripped of recent snow down to last week's crust. Dense wind slabs 6-12 inches thick were found in wind loaded terrain above 9,000’. These slabs were stubborn and not reactive to my weight on small test features. No shooting cracks. However, I did experience one localized collapse on an exposed ridgeline near 10,000’. With these slabs becoming hard to trigger, newly formed wind slabs involving tomorrow’s snowfall will be the primary surface instability to watch out for. 

Weak faceted snow is still preserved in the middle of the snowpack and continues to show potential to produce a deeper avalanche. See snowpack section for more info.

One isolated collapse along a wind loaded ridgeline at 10,000’.

I dug on a sheltered NE aspect at 9,100’. Here, facets from January/February were only buried about 1.5 feet (50cm), which is well within the range for human triggering. These grains are well developed (2mm) and still weak (fist hard). While the overlying slab is fairly strong, the snowpack structure where I dug was poor and an extended column test still showed potential for crack propagation. ECTP 28 down 50cm. 

Loading from tomorrow’s strom may increase the likelihood of triggering one of these slabs in very steep, sheltered, and north facing terrain. Giving these particular features a healthy margin still seems like a good call until we go through a proper spring melt/freeze cycle.