Quick report
- Red Flags
- Recent Avalanches, Wind Loading, Cracking, Rapid Warming
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Some red flags very elevation dependent. Rapid warming lower elevations, wind loading and cracking upper elevations.</p>
Upper elevation - strong winds and continuous transport - loading along and off ridge lines and growing cornices. Avalanche noticed from a distance across Hidden Canyon - 9,600', NE facing. Natural or skier triggered? Out of the wind affected terrain, there seemed to be a new snow density inversion about 6" down.
Photo 1 - small skier triggered wind slab on test slope. Continuous loading.
Photo 2 - roof-a-lanche at 8,850'. This is one of the smaller ones observed, looks to be recent snow since about Feb 2 only. Many roofs had much deeper snow, large cornices and ice, and roofs seemed to be sliding at about all elevations in the canyon, with many still waiting to slide.
Mid to lower elevations - numerous wet loose and shallow new snow slides
Photo 1 - example of natural wet loose sluff off a steep road bank. There was a (wet/damp) new snow soft slab avalanche cycle overnight, maybe 6 to 10" deep, in addition to wet sluffs. Below about 7,200' on the steep road banks. There seemed to be additional new wet sluffs on the drive down. Expect more wet snow avalanches overnight with more heavy wet snow and rain in the forecast overnight.
Photo 2 - Pit at 7,200'. Tremendous amount of new snow - about 3 feet - of settled snow above the Feb 2 ice crust. A couple easy shears in the newest snow, on lower density storm snow. Probably one is the weak layer of the overnight natural slabs at the lower elevations. Down by the ice crust, various compressions tests broke both above and below the crust. CT22, Q3 below. CT 23, Q2 above.
Snowpack
About another foot of snow in the past 24 hours. Very good turning on low and mid angle wind sheltered slopes on dense, surfy snow. 1 finger wind slabs along ridge line.