Quick report
- Aspect
- Northeast
- Red Flags
- Poor Snowpack Structure
- Elevation
- 3078 m
On South facing slopes, where I traveled, the storm snow fell on a mix of crusts and facets. In some places there were several crust/facets sandwiches and other places there was a stout crust sitting on top of medium grain facets. Generally speaking the storm snow fell on a melt/freeze crust and bonded well to it, although I found weak, faceted snow in all my quick pits. This pit profile is one of many different setups I found on south facing slopes. I did not travel below 9200 ' on the south half of the compass.
Surface and near surface faceting are occurring with the cold temps. This photo is from around 10,100 ft.
Traveled from 7400-10,200 all aspects.
Future stability will depend on upcoming storm totals and how the new snow bonds to the faceting snow surface but the deep slab instability should be a concern as more weight is added to the snow pack.
Snow on north half of the compass still show's two distinct weak layers with the storm snow/old snow interface being more reactive. Pit tests also indicate potential for step down into weak basal facets.
Snowpack
The storm snow has settled enough to make train breaking easier and more supportable for skiing. Surface and near surface faceting were observed at all elevations.