Quick report
- Red Flags
- Recent Avalanches, Heavy Snowfall, Wind Loading
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Saw one natural avalanche today (see report), though I wouldn't be too surprised if there were others that we couldn't see due to low visibility. Wind was definitely transporting snow and sufficient snowfall led to the creation of soft and harder pockets of wind affected snow.</p> <p>Pertinent negative: pit on a NW aspect circa 9200ft below Allen Peak did not present the "gray stripe" of the persistent weak layer. We experienced surface instability only today with a right side up snowpack transitioning nicely from F to 1F through its entire 170cm depth to the ground. </p>
Hazard definitely felt like moderate+ at times today, though maybe not full-blown considerable. Definitely expect elevated hazard with the incoming additional snow, though not sure how reactive or prevalent the PWL will be.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Wind affected snow resulted in very small releases while ascending the ridgeline. On the descent, the upper reaches of Allen Peak featured mid or high density surface snow, but no significant wind pillows. 500ft below the summit, we were a bit surprised to find more significant wind effects, at the low end of the upper elevation band and into the mid elevations. There were pockets reactive to ski cutting, and small 6 - 8" releases failing on the new/old snow interface on slopes steeper than about 35 degrees. These were D1 to D1.5 in size (see report). The natural avalanche we saw was a similar failure on a larger scale in the gut of the Banana Chute. With continued wind and snowfall, I don't see the wind loading going away in the next few days.</p> <p>As the rest of the system moves in, I'm sure the new snow problems will continue. Today's moderate snowfall amount made new snow/sluffing a far lower concern then the wind pockets noted above.</p>
New snow at the highest elevations (9465ft on Allen Peak) was about 10", with decreasing amounts at lower elevations (about 8" at mid elevation). Surface snow was powder or dense loose when wind affected (generally F to 4F hardness). At lower elevations snow was quite damp and heavy, with a few point releases and rollerballs present.