Quick report
In the areas we traveled, there was a shallow snowpack with few layers, but very interesting snow processes were at work. There was ~10cm of new low-density snow available for transport, minor wind-affected snow, and faceted grains, all of which could harbor some issues in the future. With some wind increases forecasted into Tuesday, I expect a lot of the new low-density snow to be transported across the alpine and into our eastern-facing terrain, increasing the continuity of the (as of now) isolated wind slabs. The faceted grains pose an interesting challenge: if they are more widespread throughout the western half of the compass, they will most likely continue to persist and grow with continued shallow snowpack and cold temperatures. Snow grains fall, then cling, Whispers of change, never still These shape our winter. Stability was generally present throughout our tour; we did not observe cracking or collapsing in our travels. Aside from our single data point of a pit, we found the snowpack did not show red flags of instability.
Weather
- Cloud Cover
- scattered
- Wind Loading
- none
- Recent Snowfall
- 10
- Snow Avail For Transport
- moderate amounts
Very pleasant day after the sustained 100+ miles an hour of wind we have faced as of recent
Snowpack
We found a generally shallow snow pack from 80cm to 55cm. Where we chose to open up the snow and take a look, we found only 55cm of snow. This shallow snowpack showed characteristics that were in line with what you would expect from this depth of snowpack and cold temperatures. Layering was ~10cm of new low-density snow (Fist), ~7cm of wind-affected snow (4 Finger), ~5cm of faceted snow (Fist), and a stout ice layer to finish out the snowpack.