Quick report
- Aspect
- North
- Red Flags
- Recent Avalanches, Heavy Snowfall, Wind Loading, Cracking, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Elevation
- 2743 m
- Slope Angle
- 28°
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Checked 5 of seven boxes for today. Just on the drive up the canyon there were long roadside avalanches that had propogated for some distance. Always a bad sign. The heavy snowfall with the more dense snow from this morning sitting on the very light snow from Tuesday morning and bonding poorly leads to poor snowpack structure. Then toss in some wind. There you have it. All but the rapid warming which is in the forecast for Thursday.</p>
Also as reported triggered an avalanche on the east facing ridge leading up to Reynolds peak. See report.
Had we continued up the ridge to Reynolds summit I feel confident that the east bowl would have released. It was wind loading quite well today.
With predicted rapid warming for tomorrow this can not bode well for avalanche conditions.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Full depth snow pack pit dug at 9000' in sheltered 28 degree slope yielded high quality shear 8" down with 3 taps from the wrist. </p> <p>Basal facets seemed solid but present.</p> <p>Second shear albeit more stubborn about 20" down which I believe is the weekend storm snow sitting on the frost hoar which formed during the short cold dry spell.</p> <p>See Pic</p> <p>As above the second most reactive pit layer is about 20" down. Buried frost hoar.</p>
Snow has gone upside down from yesterday. Todays snow is denser and wind effected and poorly bonded to the snow from the weekend.