Red Lake Bowl

We had a nice hike today around the Red Lake Bowl area out of the Virginia Lakes TH. Objective #1 was to assess how much snow came in on the night of Dec. 6th and to get a feel for whether or not wind slabs would be a concern. Objective #2  was to monitor faceted layers lower in the early season snowpack.

• It was a good decision to leave the skis in the vehicle and hike in mountain boots. There is post-holing in places above 9500'. It might be possible to make a ski tour in this area, but the patchy coverage and variable conditions left us content with our decision not to ski.
• 3-5" of low-density snow fell in this area on Dec. 6th - (field obs agree well with local weather stations).
• High winds that accompanied that storm seem to have stripped most snowfields above the treeline. We observed continued wind erosion on N aspects by moderate up-canyon winds this afternoon.
• In northerly drifts near treeline we identified a wind slab interface 10 to 20cm down from the surface. The grains at the interface were non-persistent and the interface showed no propagation propensity.
• 2 - 5cm of Depth hoar exists between the ground and a strong melt-freeze crust near and above treeline. It is interrupted by bare ground and ice fields formed from last season's snow.
• The greatest hazard in the mountains currently is from slips and falls. The potential exists for sliding falls on firm wind-scoured surfaces. Bare ground and other early-season obstacles below steep snow patches would increase the consequences of a tumble.

Nice to be back in the field with the avalanche center, even if the season is off to a slow start!

See attached photos and snow profiles. These profiles were taken in deeper drifts on NNE aspects around 10,000'. In the alpine, there are four types of surface: bare ground, exposed alpine ice, melt-freeze / sastrugi over 10cm of depth hoar, and wind drifts.