Quick report
- Red Flags
- Wind Loading, Rapid Warming, Poor Snowpack Structure
Sun was high enough to hit everything, even true north facing, but the biggest damage was to be found on the south and southwest. The north stayed dry and consistent from 10 A.M. through 4 P.M. The south facing was wet and heavy over a crust, making for unhappy skins, metal edge and binding surfaces and ski topsheets. Some hasty handpits on west facing at 8,900 feet found an equal depth of fresh and crust (2 inches each) over about 60cm of unconsolidated. This was on a face that was largely exposed sage three weeks ago, now with a 70cm cover.
The north hiking and turns were good. The rest not so good.
Cresting a ridge running east/west, an interesting mix of wind deposits and wind slab on the north side and cornices directly over the top on the south side. Some small cornice collapses happening on the south side, but not causing any slides.