Quick report
- Collapsing
- isolated
We experienced a few relatively small collapses. More of these occurred on the second and third passes up skin tracks than on the first. Associated cracking was not visible on the surface.
Weather
- Recent Snowfall
- 2 cm today
- Snow Avail For Transport
- large amounts
Mixed bag of clouds and sun in the late morning. Intense S2-S3 burst in the mid afternoon deposited up to 2 cm of new snow. Winds were calm to light initially, increasing slightly to the upper end of light later in the day, blowing out of the W/NW. Skies pulled back around sunset, making for an absolute banger of a show...I'll take it.
Snowpack
at 8k there is 30+cm of new snow from the past week
at 10k there is roughly 40-50cm of new from the past week.
On W/SW aspect at 8,300' the 2/1 interface was down 35cm. There was a stout, 2-3cm crust here that you could break through with your pole. No obvious signs of weakness/poor bonding at the top of this crust, but there are some small facets on the underside. I can imagine this being problematic with additional loading. At this point, there really isn't much of a slab on top of this interface. As the slab gain strength and attaches to the crust, we may see more issues at the base of the crust. I think this also applies to this interface more broadly.
In this same location the 1/6 interface was down 70-80cm and produced repeated ECTPs in the low to mid 20s.
While 1/6 is a glaringly obvious problem, the 2/1 interface deserves respect and additional consideration. If this layer becomes more problematic I'd expect it to be at its worst on solar margins at middle and upper, on high, cold direct solars, and on shaded slopes where there are one or more rain crusts + associated facets (the rain that produced these extended to 10,000' in many places).
Avalanche
We did not observe any avalanches in our immediate surroundings. Clearing at sunset allowed for a good view of the northern portion of the Boulders. I could not make out any large, obvious slides, but I did not stop and spend the time needed to really dig into terrain. In addition, W/NW winds following the multi-day SE hose would have done a good job obscuring crowns and debris.