Quick report
- Red Flags
- Recent Avalanches, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Widespread natural wet loose avalanche below 8000' noted on the drive down BCC. </p>
Tour was up from Spruces to the top of Powder Park 3 and back. Utilized the good coverage on the south facing to access the ridgeline and had a pleasant walk. Wind decreasing but had affected the surfaces as you gained elevation from 8200-9000'.
1. Mountain Mahogany-South facing coverage
2. Wind Texture from cross loading on NE facing slope above Powder Park 3
3. Wind Texture from upslope wind on West facing slope of Powder Park 3
4. Ski turn initated roller balls on South facing Mountain Mahogany upon exit at 2pm
5. Natural roller balls below 8,000' feet all the way down canyon
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>The structure is well advertised as being ripe for avalanching on nearly all aspects. Low elevation South was the holdout and was generally right side up with a moist series of crusts at ground level to 20cm. Above that was all from the last 1.5 weeks of storms. Some easy shears in the new snow, and on a subtle crust from a break between storms, but no propagation or cracking. Lots of crowns still visible across the range in the mid and upper elevation bands on a variety of aspects.</p>
Surface conditions were good to very good. The wind had pressed the medium density snow into a lot of terrain features and the HS on Mountain Mahogony (S. facing 7400-8000') is 60-100cm deep. The snowpack was approaching twice that depth over on the Powder Park 3 side of things. South facing took on heat by the mid afternoon and roller balls were initiated on every turn below 8000'.