Quick report
- Cracking
- specific
I started hiking up Yost Bowl from the existing Hourglass skin track to see how the snow felt up higher in Yost Bowl. Aspect: NNW Elevation: 10'100 ft. At the skin track there was a soft 1'' wind skin over F soft new snow. After hiking up about 30 or 40 vertical feet, this changed dramatically. The wind slab was now 7'' deep, 4F hard. Several shooting cracks propagated out all around my skis. Needless to say that I immediately abandoned my intentions of skinning up to the rocks half way up the bowl. I had stepped on the paws of the Wind Slab dragon. Yikes! Shooting Cracks in wind affected NNE facing slope.
Weather
- Air Temp
- Below freezing
- Cloud Cover
- overcast
- Wind Loading
- moderate
- Recent Snowfall
- 25-30 cm
- Snow Avail For Transport
- moderate amounts
Cold day with light to moderate winds from the SW, shifting to NW and picking up in intensity at ridge top elevations around 1400 hrs. At times the sun and some blue sky prevailed only to be overtaken by clouds and light snowfall.
Snowpack
The June Mountain Backcountry received about 25 cm of new snow in this last storm. Below 10k in locations not exposed to winds, the snow was mostly unconsolidated and not setting up as a slab yet. In those locations the new snow is more shallow and a crust can be felt when skiing. Near tree line and in the alpine there is more snow. In sheltered depressions the snow is up to 40 cm deep and soft but starting to feel more like a slab. In places exposed to down slope or cross slope winds the presence of wind slabs was apparent.