Quick report
- Red Flags
- Wind Loading, Cracking
Travel today was up Cardiff Fork to George's Bowl and the ridge dividing Cardiff from Mineral. I took HS from George's approach at about 8800 where it was 115 cm to at 10,200 near the top of East fork of Mineral where it was 130 cm. It averaged elsewhere in the main bowl at 120 cm. The snow surface ranged from deteriorating powder to windskin to surface hoar in gullies.
On the ridges above 10,000 wind was gusting from the moderate to strong category by my guess. Sky was scattered.
We poked down into Dark Ebony but found connected wind slabs 200 feet below the ridge so we hiked back out and skied into Cardiff, where we also found red flags related to wind like shooting cracks and stubborn slabs, down 1,000 feet off the ridge. Photos below.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Obvious wind transport from the west and south, and crossloading in drainages and on sub features. Found wind skin as well as wind slabs both near ridges and well below them. </p>