Quick report
We observed no cracking or collapsing. Visibility was poor, but we didn't see any large avalanches during brief glimpses of visibility. Wind-sheltered middle elevation slopes facing NW-N-NE have a well-developed buried weak layer but currently lack enough of a slab to cause problems. Wind-stiffened snow existed in some exposed middle elevation terrain near and below 8500', but visible signs had been buried by last night's new snow.
Weather
- Air Temp
- 25- 30
- Cloud Cover
- obscured
- Wind Loading
- previous
- Rain Elevation
- 7500'
- Recent Snowfall
- 10-20 since 2/8
- Snow Avail For Transport
- moderate amounts
New snow includes the settled 2/8 storm snow: about 10cm at 8000', 15-20cm from 8200-8600'. Only 2-3cm of new snow from this small storm on the night of 2/10 and today on 2/11. Rain line refers to during the 2/8-9 storm - rain line was below the Baker Ck parking lot today. Wind Loading refers to minor loading/stiffening below 8600' during the 2/8-9 storm. Winds were calm today. It snowed lightly throughout the day.
Snowpack
Below 8000', we saw Sunday's snow present in a rain-snow mixture that formed a 2-3cm crust. With an additional 2-3 cm of new snow on top. There was a thin layer of facets on top of the 2/8 crust, making the 2/8 storm snow/ice fail cleanly and easily.
Above 8000': storm snow amounts increased from 10 to 20cm as you climbed on the north aspects. At the 2/8 interface, there was a razor crust on top of the facets up to about 8300'. We also observed facets above this crust. Wind siffened snow from the 2/8-9 storm (4F hardness) could be felt in places above 8300', but there were no obvious visual clues. On S-SE near 8500-8600', the 2/8 crust was 5 cm thick. Hand pits and non-standard tests indicated the 15cm of settled storm snow above it (1F > 4F > F at the surface) was well-bonded to the old crust.
Test results at 8400' N: HST 150 cm, HN 17 cm, ECTN2 at the top of the 2/8 weak layer 17 cm down. PST = 20/100 SF at 17 cm down. While we observed weak layers failing, the slab was not stiff enough to produce unstable test results.