Quick report
I traveled up Phat Ridge to the top of Salt Creek Bowl and descended down 1st Bowl. I mostly wanted to get a handle on what the surface conditions were across different aspects ahead of the incoming storm. Today's snow surface is tomorrow's weak layer.
Weather
- Air Temp
- 35
- Cloud Cover
- clear
- Wind Loading
- previous
- Recent Snowfall
- 0
Clear skies. Calm to Lt/Var winds. Temperatures were in the mid to upper 30's.
Snowpack
I dug a pit on a NE aspect around 7500' just off of Phat Ridge. The height of snow was 190cm/6.2'. There was about 10-12" of very weak snow at the surface that was sitting on an older wind-stiffened layer of snow. This interface showed reactivity in a Compression Test (CT11SP). With an additional load of snow this weekend, this will be the interface to watch out for. Once a slab is laid over the existing surface, we will have all of the right ingredients for a slab avalanche: 1.) Cohesive (strong) snow 2.) a weak layer (the 10-12" of facets) that are currently on the surface AND 3.) a bed surface made up of wind packed snow and/or the 1/3 Rain Crust.
In more protected areas at lower elevations, surface hoar was also present (see photo below). Once buried, this will be a reactive weak layer within the snowpack.
South and West aspects are holding Melt Freeze Crusts of various thickness. Exposed upper elevation terrain held old wind packed surfaces that made for interesting travel (see photo).
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