Quick report
- Aspect
- North
- Red Flags
- Wind Loading, Cracking, Collapsing, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Elevation
- 3261 m
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>We experienced collapsing and cracking throughout the day. Slopes seemed to have been crossed loaded from the north and south. CT test showed reactive layers in the snow pack.</p>
Column tests on north facing slopes were typically failing on basal facets just under the old snow surface but i also was getting results on the old snow surface/new snow interface on preserved stellars.
CT5-15 Q1&2 on basal facets (Second Photo)
CT5-15 Q2 on the old snow/new snow interface (First photo)
Old snow surface were rounded grains on north facing slopes and melt forms on west thru south facing slopes. Photo is of melt freeze crust on west facing slope.
The Mirror Lake Highway is officially closed for the season. The snow pack is still thin in the Uintas but this storm was kind to the area, easily doubling the amount of snow already on the ground. Still not a lot of slope connectivity with a lot of anchors still poking through the snow. Trend should be toward increasing stability unless the winds pick up. Kept the skins on all day as there are still a lot of hazards lurking above and just under the snow surface. Beautiful day in the alpine.
Snowpack
Density inversion in the new snow with denser wind effected snow on top of light density snow, that seemed to have fallen with little wind, just above the old snow surface.