Quick report
- Aspect
- North
- Red Flags
- Cracking, Collapsing, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Elevation
- 2835 m
- Slope Angle
- 30°
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Poor snowpack structure on all slopes except due South, as expected. Isolated collapsing and cracking.</p>
Went for a tour up in White Pine today and dug three pits with my partner on mid to upper elevation N facing slopes. In all pits, we observed the PWL at the base of our snowpack with grains ranging from 1-3 mm (see photo below). Test results below:
Pit 1: NW slope @ 9100', HS=110cm. ECTP-29 @ 53cm below the surface on the faceted PWL.
Pit 2: N slope @ 9200', HS=86cm. ECTP-18 @ 46cm below the surface on the faceted PWL. PST 27/100 (End) on same layer.
Pit 3: N slope @ 9250', HS=120cm. ECTN-18 @ 35cm below the surface on a NSF layer. ECTN-23 @ 60cm below the surface on the faceted PWL. PST 30/100 (End) on faceted PWL 56cm below the surface.
While Pit 3 did not show propagation in our ECTs, we did not trust the test results and didn't let it affect our decision making. Nearly identical PST results in pits 2 and 3 show that the persistent weak layer at the base of our snowpack is more than willing to propagate and produce avalanches. We stuck to low angle terrain and found some great turns, this is not the time or season to push for bigger objectives.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>We observed the faceted PWL at the base of our snowpack in all three pits dug today, as well as pole probing throughout our tour. No signs of healing, I imagine this will persist through the majority of our season.</p>
Soft snow on protected, shady northern slopes. Crusty snow surface on S and SW slopes due to yesterday's sun.