Red Creek

Toured up to 8600 feet above Red Creek. New snow depths range from about 8 inches at the road (5800 feet) to 18 inches at 8500'. The new snow seems to be bonding well to the old snow surface. In most places, there is not enough cohesion for a slab. In more wind-affected areas above 8000 feet hand shears required moderate force and were non-planar. At 8500' we experienced very localized cracking around skis in wind-affected terrain. The cracks did not shoot out more than a few feet and seemed to be associated with a density change in the new snow. No collapsing or recent avalanches were seen. On one steep (40 degrees) rollover we were able to get a small amount of dry loose sloughing at around 7200 feet.

If we continue to get snow accumulation with wind, watch for shooting cracks and areas of older buried windslab specific to exposed, upper-elevation ridglines. The avalanche hazard will increase over the next 48 hours with the incoming storm. Watch for upside-down conditions as temperatures warm over the next 24hrs and winds increase.