Valley of the square Rock (E francis)

Warming temperatures and decreasing wind made for a bit more pleasant day today. Unfortunately, snow conditions are generally undesirable for travel up or down. Windslabs that formed over the most recent windy period are not bonding well to underlying surfaces in some areas I recently observed in the maritime zone. Weak faceted snow 10-20cm deep underneath hard windslabs found in specific areas is responsible for causing ongoing reactivity. As these areas of slab over facets get loaded by more snow, we may see this problem become more sensitive. 

Hard windslabs over weak faceted snow in some areas are being stubborn to "heal". I observed evidence of this yesterday and today while touring in the maritime zone. Slabs have regularly been producing cracking underfoot and under the snow machine. Today, a concerning collapse occurred over a wider area of hardslab on a 30-degree slope.

Surface conditions were significantly reshaped by the strong winds we have been experiencing for more than a week now. Exposed areas were stripped down to the mid-January crust that was previously buried 2-3. Other generally undesirable surface textures included 1ft+ high sastrugi, hard windslabs, and recrystallized faceted snow. In some locations, 10-20cm of weak faceted snow was covered by hard windslabs that were reactive when skied across. One area of more extensive hardslab produced a concerning collapse on a 30-degree slope.

I dug a pit at 3200 feet in an area without an overlying wind slab. The upper snowpack showed fair structure with a couple of potentially weak interfaces down 45cm and 60cm. These were easily visible as a line in the pit wall. The interface at 45cm may correspond to the 1/26 weak layer. Extended column testing did not produce propagation, but a propagation saw test produced more notable/concerning results of (PST35/100) end on the 45cm layer.