Quick report
- Aspect
- Northeast
- Red Flags
- Collapsing, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Elevation
- 3170 m
- Slope Angle
- 30°
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>My partner was able to get a north facing slope at about 10,500' to collapse and fracture but it didn't release when he rode a snowbike near it.</p>
We performed a couple of stability tests today, one formal and one informal.
The formal one was an Extended Column Test that propagated after one tap from the shoulder (ECTP-21). Very clean shear on top of the Christmas facets.
We then widened up the pit and rode a snowbike over the top and had similar results.
This weak snow near the ground makes me nervous. Chances for triggering an avalanche are decreasing right now but it would still be possible. There is enough danger to keep me off many steep slopes on the north half of the compass.
Obviously, the danger will increase when we add more snow on top of this weak snowpack structure.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>The weak snow near the ground remains the greatest concern. The last storm didn't really add a whole lot of weight on top of the old weak snow. The wind did not drift much snow either. These two factors are why we didn't see any avalanches during the last storm. However, the weak snow is not going away yet and will need to be taken into account during future storms.</p>
Slopes facing the sun became damp. Otherwise, cold powder remains on all other slopes. Very little wind effect still. Most places where we jumped off the machines, our boots sank right through to the ground. Overall depths are around 2 feet or a bit more in the highest terrain.