Quick report
- Red Flags
- Rapid Warming, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>The snowpack is currently weak but mostly stable. On shady slopes out of the wind zone the entire snowpack is turning into loose facets. In loaded areas the snowpack is more complex with depth hoar at the ground, a mid pack layer of facets just beneath the Decemeber storm cycle, and a layer of buried surface hoar 6-8" below the surface. </p> <p>Clouds and wind kept the snow surface cool until midafternoon afterwhich the snow began to get wet on sun exposed slopes. In spite of near record temperatures over the past 4 days, no wet slide activity has been observed.</p>
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>This danger has largely abated for the time being but will certainly re-activate if and when we receive more snow. There still may be places in areas of extreme terrain where it will be possible to trigger a persistent slab.</p> <p>The warm temperatures warrant an awareness of this type of avalanche on sun exposed slopes later in the day but as of yet, wet slide activity has not been a problem. </p>
Continued mixed bag of snow surfaces but wind crusts are breaking down on exposed high alpine northerly aspects making for some pretty good re-crystallized snow with generally improved turning conditions. Snowpack is very thin. Many of the upper elevation north faces are scoured down to the rocks in places, and south faces are showing bare ground. Snow cover in upper elevation sheltered areas averages 30-36".
Decent turning conditions on upper elevation re-crystallized snow. NE face of Tukunikivatz.
Looking down the SW facing colouir "Tuklear Reaction" from the summit of Tukunikivatz.
Looking down the N Face of Tukunikivatz from the summit.