Quick report
- Red Flags
- Recent Avalanches, Wind Loading, Cracking, Collapsing, Rapid Warming, Poor Snowpack Structure
photo 1: scouring on the NE face of Kings Peak. Remnants of old cross loaded wind slabs from the west are just barely visible in this photo.
photo 2: West Face of Gilbert. crowns are not visible in this photo
photo 3: winds loading the East facing slopes of Flat Top.
photo 4: cracking in the flats by Dollar Lake
photo 5: Facets found 15 cm from the surface in the flats. HS of 50-60cm in this area
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p> From our vantage point near Dollar Lake, we noted extensive wind drifts and cross loading on nearly every visible peak. Most notable were crossloads on the aprons of Dome Peak and Henrys Fork Peak, and 20-30 foot cornices from Westerly winds on Flat top mountain with loading on the convex East facing slopes below. Upper Henry's fork was peppered with stiff wind slabs and sastrugi from winds ripping across the flats.</p> <p>Old wind slab crowns observed in West facing chutes off Gilbert Peak @~11.5k'</p> <p> </p> <p> Weak snowpack structure was noted all across the basin. We noted whumpfs and cracking during our skin up Henrys Fork to Dollar Lake, failing on the W/S/PWL interface. We didnt manage to get up onto any representative faces, but both basal facets and especially developed near surface facets were found in the flats on the way to Dollar Lake. </p>