Northerly and Northeasterly aspects of Fremont Peak (Jays Slide, Silverton and Telemark Paths)
Quick report
The snowpack generally had fair structure, moderate to high strength, and no fracture propagation propensity. See the 4/4 Jay's Slide Path snow pit (northerly Fremont Peak at 10,800'). On 4/5, we dug a second pit at 11,450' on a NE (46°) aspect of Fremont Peak, right next to the classic starting zone of the Telemark Path. The slope angle was 31°. This second pit was similar to the Jay's Slide pit; however, the snowpack temperature was slightly warmer, the M/F layer was thicker, and the percolation columns were larger. The location of the second pit gets more sun compared to the first pit.
On 4/4 and 4/5, we found no wind slabs. On 4/5, we found evidence of a small amount of wind scouring on a NE aspect, at 11500' on Fremont Peak.
We did see two small avalanches that occurred ~4/3 (see the avalanches section below). We looked hard for instabilities on 4/4 and 4/5 but found none. The only exception was small "streams of graupel snow" flowing in very steep terrain. This was right after the 30-minute storm that deposited 2-3" of graupel on 4/4.Weather
- Wind Loading
- none
- Recent Snowfall
- 31
- Snow Avail For Transport
- large amounts
April 4 and 5 were very dynamic, with sun, snow, and a 30-minute graupel storm that deposited 2-3" of graupel (at ~4 PM on 4/4). Northerly winds were generally light, with some moderate gusts. At ridge crests, the winds were sometimes stronger and sometimes moving snow (to ~SE aspects).
Avalanche
Two small D1 soft snow avalanches were observed. These likely occurred during the storm on 4/3. One was a point release on ~NE aspect. The other was probably a point release (~N aspect) but may have been a soft slab (see the Birthday Boy Chute photo).