Observation: Cone

I walked up to the Cone today to investigate slab development over our new PWL formed from December’s dry spell. Snow from last night stacked up to 6” at the TH, with only slightly more at upper elevations. Winds died down from last night and stayed calm from the west, with the occasional moderate gust reaching 30mph. When walking on previously untraveled areas, collapsing (whumping) was easy to find. I dug a snowpit on an NE face at 9300’ in an area I suspected to have a stronger slab above the December PWL. At this location, the height of snow was 130cm, and the December facets were 45cm beneath the surface. Above these facets, new snow from the past week is beginning to gain strength in this wind-loaded location. An extended column test showed propagation on our new PWL (ECTP21 @ 85cm, 45 cm beneath the surface). As the new snow from the past week gains strength, and more weight is added to the upper snowpack, propagation will be easier to produce with less force.

New snow from last night stacked up to 6-8” consistently from the TH to as high as I traveled (9300’). West-facing slopes at mid and upper elevations were nearly stripped of this new snow from last night’s winds. In untraveled areas, snow from the past week felt bottomless underneath my skis. Excellent riding conditions exist on all aspects except due south, where snow still needs to stack up.