Quick report
- Red Flags
- Heavy Snowfall, Wind Loading, Cracking, Collapsing, Rapid Warming, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Elevation
- 3414 m
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Couldn't see much out there today, but I would guess there was some avalanche activity occurring today. The wind along Laurel ridge was nuking and lots of drifting was observed. </p>
Snow depth was ~50cm with about half of that being new snow. You can see the new snow is very white and the older snow is more gray in color. This old snow has become weak over the last few weeks of high-pressure and produced long shooting cracks and propagating test results (ECTP14).
Several shooting cracks on a north aspect opposite of Julie's glade.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>The new snow is very dense and has been moved around by the strong SW winds. I observed about a dozen collapses and several shooting cracks up to 50' in length. The most consistent failures were on north aspects. Got an ECTP14 at the new/old snow interface on a northerly aspect near treeline. </p> <p>Very active wind today-can only assume that the new snow is being rapidly redistributed onto the eastern half of the compass. </p>
New snow is quite dense. Ski pen was only ~3-5 cm and was able to enjoy creamy turns on fast, smooth snow. Wind was pretty wild in the alpine and Laurel Ridge was being stripped bare of snow.