Quick report
- Red Flags
- Wind Loading, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>No cracking, collapsing, or recent slides observed...actually that's not exactly true - looked down Jaws of Days Fork and saw what was likely a natural shallow wind slab initiated slide that left a size 1.5 debris pile in the transition below; likely occurred Saturday morning as it had a couple inches of snow on the soft slab debris...all new snow/no step down. Plenty of shovelling provided evidence of wide range of spatial variability; many areas no slab, many areas with decomposing slab. Minor sluffing in steepest terrain. Impressed to see no lines skiied in Main Days; with only a few in Upper Days. </p>
Bottom Line seems like pockets of Moderate for persistent slab issues and same for wind drifts up high.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Inconclusive and conflicting results from myriad "stability" tests; non-standardized ECT did elicit full propagation (ie - no propagation after 30, so started again on other side of the extended column. HS in mid elevation shady ranged from 70cm to 120cm.</p> <p>Plenty of weak faceted snow on south facing among the crusts....would not overlook this poor structure with a significant snow load...</p> <p>Some noted even with the uphill "fetch" off steep northwest facing East Bowl of Silver; though pockety as described before. </p>
Low density above melt freeze crusts, old wind board and a touch of recrystallized prior to the "storm".