Quick report
- Red Flags
- Recent Avalanches, Heavy Snowfall, Wind Loading, Cracking, Rapid Warming, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Poor snowpack structure identified as the preserved Light density snow that fell in the beginning of the snow events earlier in the week. See avalanche report regarding recent avalanches and cracking. Widespread cracking on all slopes with angles greater than 30 degrees. Slope cutting yielded reactive soft slabs that were propagating, and easily triggering avalanches on Specific terrain features like convex rollovers. </p>
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>The new snow was more dense than much of the previous snow fall events earlier in the week. And this may have had as much to do with the contributing factor of the Moderate to Strong Winds that have been active. Even in the more protected areas, the slightly inverted nature of the accumulating snow appeared to play a part in the sensitivity and reactivity observed today. In steep northerly facing terrain above 9500 feet these instabilities may linger. In the lower elevations, they most likely will have settled out with the warming and solar. </p> <p>In areas that were receiving significant solar in the mid afternoon, Wet activity was likely. Fridays forecast for Sunny skies and rising temperatures will Likely increase this hazard significantly. As a result there may be a period in the afternoon when the danger rating may rise to Considerable for Wet activity. </p>
Excellent riding for mid April. As the day burned on the snow quality degraded significantly with the warming and clear skies. By 1400, all aspects except the moderately steep northerlies were getting damp and even wet from 9200 feet and down. You could still feel the bottom on many steep slopes, and this may have had something to do with the slightly inverted nature of the new snow that has accumulated over the past 4 days. Moderate angled slopes appeared to ride the best. The latest round of snow overnight consisted of at least 7 inches of graupel and rimed particles.