Quick report
- Aspect
- Northwest
- Red Flags
- Heavy Snowfall, Wind Loading, Cracking, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Elevation
- 2987 m
- Slope Angle
- 28°
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>A few red flags but nothing alarming. Kept in mind the prefrontal winds before the storm. Cracking was minimal. The new snow did not seem reactive in pit tests or while traveling or skiing. The snowpack structure is still poor but in the area I traveled there was almost 6 feet of snow and the buried weak layers seem to have adjusted to the weight of the pack above. </p>
I had more snow at my house in Oakley than was at the 1000 Peaks gate (7400 ft.) but once you gained a litte elevation the snow started stacking up. Kept to mostly lower angle terrain but jumped onto some steeper slopes with no problems. The storm slab seemed well bonded to the old snow surface and there was some sluffing in the new snow but it was minor.
In the next few days the sun could be a factor in snowpack stability.
Lots of "whalebacks" on the lee side of trees in the upper elevations from the strong winds.
Repeater on an east facing slope.
Results of shovel shear.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Not much new to mention here. In the area traveled, I was feeling the bridging effect of the deeper snowpack was helping reduce the likelyhood of a persitant slab avalanche. </p> <p>Not sure what the winds are supposed to do tonight and tomorrow but there's no shortage of light snow to move around.</p>
Hard to say but maybe 3"-6" overnight.