Brooks Weather Station

Brooks weather station is installed and running so check the  24 Hour Summary of Weather Station Data for updates. Snowmobiled from the top of the divide via the X Trail towards Brooks. Overall decent coverage on the trail. Thanksgiving storm certainly favored east and top of the divide. Still fairly low coverage overall so watch those A arms, but good meadow riding can be found!  Areas with the highest concern for avalanches are westerly aspects where firm cohesive wind transported slabs sit above weak snow near the ground. Specifically those westerly aspects adjacent to the large plateaus as seen in the observation from Breccia. Slopes that have not been completely scoured (north and west aspects) will continue to be where the primary avalanche problem exists. 

Where you find snow, you'll find weak snowpack structure. Right now there's a ton of variability in the snowpack after the Thanksgiving storm due to strong easterly winds. Slopes where snow still exists (nort and west aspects) are comprised of weak, faceted snow near the ground that fell in Oct/Nov. On specific wind loaded slopes, a firm cohesive slab sits above this weak structure. These are the slopes to use caution now and in the future. Additional loading and stress on that weak snow during loading events will warrant careful snowpack assessment. Snow depth in the meadows on the top of the divide varied from 10" to 19". Most slopes on west and south aspects are completed scoured north of the highway.