Jamb Creek, Upper Hoback

We toured from Jamb Creek and noted an average snowpack depth of around 2.5-3 feet. 4-5 inches of new snowfall was being transported by northerly winds above 9,000 feet. 

A snowpit test dug on a NE aspect around 9,000 feet revealed a snowpack depth of around 4 feet deep with a consistent slab of consolidated snow around 2.5 feet thick with around 8 inches of faceted, weaker snow at the base of the snowpack. One layer of weaker snow (buried near-surface facets from last week) in the top 12 inches of the snowpack is also recently buried and may produce avalanches upon the next larger loading event. A snowpit test on an ESE around 8,600 feet revealed a slightly shallower snowpack depth (~ 3 feet) with more facets near the base of the snowpack, though these also did not produce any results. 

The activity of weak snow in this zone will be spatially disparate. It will remain unstable longer in isolated areas while under consistent weather conditions (no temperature change, no new snowfall). These isolated spots are worth looking for where you ride, and digging into the snow is the only way to find them right now. Weather change will activate deeper layers in a more widespread fashion; for now, regard slopes with slabs of wind-packed, newer snowfall cautiously, and look at the snowpack beneath your track or feet if stepping into bigger terrain, particularly if it is rocky, shallow, or north-facing. Small pockets of recent wind slab and a few larger cornice failures on steep ridgelines were noted. These could push a ride into unwanted terrain or trigger a deeper avalanche on a slope below.  

New snow was cracking where the wind had formed fresh slabs on leeward aspects. Northerly winds were swirling and cross-loading, as well as blowing up-slope.