Quick report
Location: Jacob’s Ladder Elevation: 4800’ Aspect: NW Winds: Moderate, SSW Sky Condition: OVC Our AIARE I course went up along the Cog today around 11:15am. We noticed very little cohesiveness in the new snow, but it was gaining strength marginally as we climbed. Moderate winds started to move some of the new snow around 4000’ or so. We chose to dig on a NW slope at Jacob’s Ladder (~4800’) and found some distinct layers in the shallow (90 cm) snowpack. The top 14 cm of new F hard snow sat on a 10 cm K hard crust. Under that was a layer of 20 cm P-1F snow that most likely came in upside down. Below this was a 6 cm K hard crust with 1-2 mm facets on the underside. A CT failed moderately (CT14) on these facets with a Q3 shear. Other pits nearby yielded more stubborn results. Overall, we did not find any concerning instabilities with the new snow Snow was starting to fall for the first time on our tour as we headed down around 3pm. The skiing was great, but still low tide for February.