Quick report
- Red Flags
- Wind Loading, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>As I mentioned above it was obvious that the winds had been active during this last round of storms and like usual I would expect to find some newly formed wind slabs on the lee side of ridges and terrain features. The Facets that Dave Garcia found yesterday are still down sitting below the "styrofoam" snow. The winds were strong enough to form a new large cornice on the north side of Noriega's .</p>
Not bad for mid January!
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Their were plenty of signs of cross loading and active winds from this last storm. along the ridge we found plenty of new formed and forming wind slabs up to 2 feet deep. I would expect to find larger wind slabs on the lee side of exposed ridges and terrain features where their were no trees to buffer the winds. With the expected new snow coming in over night these soft wind slabs should be something to be on the look out for, especially if the winds pick up overnight. </p> <p>It appears that we have any interesting snow pack right now. The snow that just fell is low density powder. This fell on top of the very dense snow that fell earlier in the week, and below this dense layer their are some very large facets. The snow pack does not seem that reactive right now to the new weight on top. No one that I talked to today had felt any whumphing or settling, but if you happen to find the sweet spot on a steeper slope you could trigger a slide. Also if we get the 10" to 20" possible from this next round the dense layer may not be able to support the new snow load or the added weight of a skier.</p>
The snow depth varied widely from the parking lot to the top of the northwoods. Their was about 4" on the road just past the parking lot, 8" in the Laurel Meadows, and 12" plus at upper elevations. It was also evident that the winds from yesterday and today had moved some of the new snow around and you could find 18" to 24" drifts right next to areas of 3" to 4" sitting on to of the "styrofoam" snow. The snow that fell with this last storm was the light fluffy low density Utah powder that, up until this year, was the norm for our mid winter snow storms. The new snow felt like it had bonded pretty well to the existing snow pack. The Gold Basin snow stake was at a strong 57" and the storm board was showing 9".