Quick report
- Collapsing
- widespread
Toured with the WCMAC/ODP avalanche Level 1 course from behind chair one past Ridgeline Yurt to behind chair 4. Observed all aspects 7500'-8300'. We noted variable surface conditions, some previous wind and solar crusts. Steep south facing road cuts had 6in or so of wet snow above a firm crust by noon today. Some isolated rollerballs seen. When approaching the sheltered terrain near the Ridgeline Yurt we noted widespread collapsing, and found a layer of surface hoar buried approximately 12 inches down. In a south facing low angle hasty pit this layer failed on isolation. We further dug a full profile on a west facing aspect at 8000' and found this SH layer was reactive in pit tests. CT14SP down 30cms, and ECTP15, PST40/100(end). A secondary layer of concern was buried facets approximately 45cms down, which broke with a sudden planar result in our CT but did not propagate in our ECT. CT21SP, ECTN20. The base of our snowpit consisted of depth hoar 2-3mm. Total height of snow in this location was 140cms or approx 52in. While touring back on area we traveled through a protected north facing terrain and noted widespread collapsing, with woomphs traveling over 50' from our group. We did not see any natural avalanches, and active wind transport was minimal today. We stuck to low angle terrain away from steep slopes to avoid this tricky persistent slab problem.