Manto nivoso

Relay Peak

Steve ReynaudCentral Sierra Nevada
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Foto de la observación 1Foto de la observación 2Foto de la observación 3Foto de la observación 4Foto de la observación 5

Quick report

Cracking
isolated

Signs of instabilities were harder to find today. We did see a slope collapse with shooting cracks up to 150' long. This most likely occurred yesterday on Jan 14, potentially from a ski track that undercut the steep, but small slope.

Weather

Cloud Cover
few
Wind Loading
previous
Recent Snowfall
0
Snow Avail For Transport
moderate amounts

Mostly sunny skies with warming temperatures throughout the day. Winds were generally light from the West.

Snowpack

We went to the Relay Peak area to look at our current weak layers where they have been reactive in the last 24-48 hours.  Multiple avalanches have occurred in this area over the last few days, both natural and human triggered.  We found a slope collapse on a small but steep slope above a gully feature with shooting cracks about 150' wide.  We dug 2 snowpits in this area near the flank of these cracks.  We were able to identify both the Jan 2 buried surface hoar and the basal depth hoar layers with snowpack tests.  Snowpack tests were mixed, but still showed concern for both these layers and an overall weak snowpack.