Copper Mountain

At Copper Mountain, we found early-season conditions. On W, N, and NW aspects, a thin crust separates the old snow below 4-8" of recent snowfall. On south facings slopes, this new snow fell onto mostly bare ground. Where old snow exists, it has become weak and unsupportable, often finding the ground while making a ski turn. Near ridgelines, the wind has transported snow, forming small cornices and 4" thick wind slabs. Many slopes have thin snow coverage and early-season hazards exist such as exposed rocks, stumps, or downed trees. 

We traveled on most aspects at elevations up to 8900' today.

Below 8000': settled snow depth ranged from 10-35cm, with 10-15 cm on new snow since Wednesday (11/13). On southern slopes, recent snow fell on bare ground. On N and W facing slopes, old snow near the ground is faceted and capped by a thin (1-2cm) crust and recent snowfall. 

Above 8000': settled snow depth ranged from 35-60cm, with deeper areas of wind-drifted snow. At 8500' on a west-facing slope, we found 25cm of facets capped by a thin (1-2cm) crust and 25cm of new/recent snow. Stability tests yielded ECTN 8 results, breaking below the crust. Again, on south-facing sparsely timbered slopes, recent snowfall fell on bare ground.

Light and previous wind drifting on ridge lines formed small cornices and ~10cm thick 4F wind slabs on N, NE, and NW aspects.