Quick report
- Cracking
- specific
- Collapsing
- specific
This area has a thin, weak snowpack. I experienced cracking and collapsing on all open slopes with enough snow to ski.
All open slopes with >50 cm of snow cracked and collapsed. The size of the collapse was confined only by slab strength and terrain connectivity.Weather
- Air Temp
- Teens and low-20s
- Cloud Cover
- overcast
- Wind Loading
- previous
- Rain Elevation
- n/a
- Recent Snowfall
- 2
- Snow Avail For Transport
- small smounts
Diffuse sunshine and light snow flurries that increased in intensity midday. It was calm at middle elevations and I could not hear any wind higher up.
Snowpack
The snowpack in this area is shallow and weak. South and west-facing slopes above the E Fork of the Big Wood have minimal snow cover up to ~10,000'. There's 50 cm of snow on shaded slopes at the base of Federal Gulch. Snow depths increased to ~90 cm by 8,800'. At this elevation, the snowpack is roughly half old-facets (pre-12/13).
The 12/13 interface was a layer of 1-2 mm near-surface facets. This layer produced continual collapsing/cracking and ECTP10. This layer also presented as a deteriorating crust/facet combo at lower elevations. The post-Christmas storms account for only about 20 cm of settled snow.
Avalanche
I saw two small wind slab avalanches on ESE-facing slopes at ~10,000' on the Little Basin/E. Fork Divide. I did not see natural persistent slab activity in my immediate terrain. I could not see much of upper elevations due to snow/clouds.