Quick report
- Red Flags
- Recent Avalanches, Wind Loading, Cracking, Collapsing, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>I checked a lot of boxes here, but honestly, I was surprised by the lack of feedback I got from the snowpack today. I had one audible collapse. And cracking was isolated. I made a point to travel on as much untouched snow as possible. I avoided wind-loaded terrain for obvious reasons. My take is this; out of the wind zone, the recently buried NSF layer has had time to adjust to incremental loading. Since 2-11, we have received roughly 1.16" of SWE over the course of three storm events. These storms have been spaced out enough that the storm snow on its own is not pushing the weak layer past its breaking point. The recent strong winds are the driving factor behind slab formation and instability right now. Steep, wind-loaded slopes NTL and ATL are the bullseye for avalanches.</p>
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Yesterday, I found drifts on leeward slopes up to two feet deep and 1F density. Today, I observed intense snow transport all day, and these drifts are growing in size. I would expect to find slabs of wind-drifted snow up to three feet deep on Thursday. These slabs sit on top of weak, faceted snow and will be sensitive to the weight of a skier or rider. These are the real deal and should be avoided.</p> <p>The well-preserved NSF layer is easily seen in this profile, buried beneath recent storm snow. I'll refer to the NSF layer as the "2-11" interface, as it was buried on the night of February 11th. The 2-11 interface seems to have adjusted to recent loading, and I didn't find it to be very reactive in my travels today. You can see the ECT results from this pit. I also dug a pit at a similar aspect and elevation on Julie's backside and got ECTN 13. Very consistent results, but not all that alarming. It will take some amount of wind drifting to get this layer to fail. As you enter the upper reaches of the near treeline zone, you will encounter drifted snow, and this layer will be more reactive. Clear skies are in the forecast for Thursday, and I suspect it will be a good day for viewing recent avalanche activity near treeline and above.</p>
It snowed an additional 3 to 4 inches today. This improved riding on northerlies, which were upside down and grabby yesterday. Solar aspects are starting to take shape and offer fun "dust on crust" conditions right now.