Manto nivoso

Rainy Pass Environs

Adam ButterfieldEast Slopes North
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Foto de la observación 1Foto de la observación 2

Quick report

Biggest hazard of the day was low snow-coverage problems. Rocks on the exits and open creeks at mid elevation. Wind slabs seemed isolated and minimal in the alpine where as the snow conditions remained excellent even after the slight inverson Monday night.

We did not find any signs of avalanche instability. Found some scouring up high near ridgetop but little slab structure in the leeward snow drifts. Assume wind slabs could have been present in isolated areas but the extent of the wind affect was far less than the previous storm.

Weather

Cloud Cover
scattered
Wind Loading
none
Recent Snowfall
25
Snow Avail For Transport
small smounts

Scattered clouds decreasing throughout the day. Cold temps and light winds coming from the west.

Snowpack

Average height of snow above 6000' was around 110cm-125cm. At upper elevations the Thanksgiving storm produced 25+cm of soft snow over the mid Nov rain crust. 

Overall snowpack is still very thin with lots of holes and open sections in exposed terrain.