Cascade area

Wind drifting created a new soft slab problem on leeward terrain features.  Where this drifting occurred directly on crusts, the problem will settle out in a few days.  Whereas, shady slopes with facets above the crusts may produce avalanches longer into the future.  The modest storm totals produced small human-triggered avalanches, but with big, long-running terrain features, the avalanche size could creep close to large.  Storm totals are notably smaller at lower elevations and closer to town, so any new avalanche problems here would be on the smaller end of the size spectrum.  Avalanches breaking on old weak layers deeper in the snowpack appear to be a low-likelihood, high-consequence problem in this part of the Ruby Range.

Shooting cracks were common in freshly drifted snow. We triggered a few small avalanches on leeward terrain features. Avalanches released in the drifted storm snow and on weak layers immediately beneath the storm snow.

Wind sheltered terrain did not have a slab avalanche problem in the storm snow through 130pm.  Wind-drifted snow was sensitive underfoot as slabs formed throughout the day.  Some avalanches and cracks broke in the storm snow, and others on facets beneath it.  Aspects on the south half of the compass lack facets above the old crusts, while the north half of the compass sometimes has facets above and below the thin old, rain crust.  Storm totals maxed out close to a foot, but only created a new slab problem with additional windloading.

We performed a test profile on a shady east aspect at 11,800 feet.  No results at the new/old interface or on deeper weak layers in a standard ECT.  The February drought interface was around 130cm deep.  Once most of the hard February slab was removed, propagation occurred from heavy blows.