Quick report
- Cracking
- isolated
The Tunnel Ridge snow site recorded 4 to 5 inches daily for the last 4 days. Today's assesssment included: Ground-truthing snow totals? Check. Crusts? You bet. Avalanche activity? Oh yeah.
- Recent natural loose dry avalanches on very steep upper-elevations slopes. These were mostly small in size but ran long distances.
- Propagating test results in the upper 12" of snowpack on NE and SE aspects on or below a stiff crust.
- Recent wind loading formed isolated slabs along upper-elevations ridges. These ranged from stubborn to reactive.
- Lower elevations had 1" of new snow on a melt freeze crust.
- Recent storm totals noticeably increased near 5800' with approximately 12" at 6800'.
- Probed and dug along a S to SE to E slope at 6700'. The meltfreeze crust from 3/1-3/2 decreased from 12 to 0.5 inches within a distance of 50 feet.
We traveled one at a time while skinning or skiing on steep slopes.
6' shooting crack , ~8" down in new snow.Weather
- Cloud Cover
- broken
- Wind Loading
- light
- Recent Snowfall
- 6
- Snow Avail For Transport
- moderate amounts
Light SW winds with moderate gusting at upper elevations. Bouts of flurries, sunshine, and clouds were on rinse and repeat all day.
Snowpack
- NE, 6200', HS=300cm
- ECTP4 down 20 cm under 1F+slab on weaker snow
- ECTN17 down 45, ECTN27 down 70
- SE, 6700', HS=260cm
- ECTP12 down 25cm on DF
- E, 6700', HS=250cm
- Multiple non-propagating results in the upper snowpack
Avalanche
In upper elevations: 15 x Dry Loose up to size 1.5 and 1 x Dry Loose size D2 in steep and rocky terrain.