Quick report
- Red Flags
- Poor Snowpack Structure
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Our PWL problem is going to be with us for some time. What I saw today gives me very little confidence in our snowpack. I will echo Eric's sentiments in today's forecast; this problem could be with us for the duration of the season. I am not willing to ski anything that resembles avalanche terrain on any slope that harbors poor snow structure. At this point, it could be a waiting game until spring. </p> <p> </p> <p>Pit #1 is an E aspect at 10,750'. ECTP 22 and ECTP 24 down 48 cm, failing on 1 mm NSF (2/11 weak layer). ECTP 25 down 80 cm failing on 1-2 mm facets. Avalanches are most likely to initiate on the 2/11 weak layer 48 cm below the surface, but the deeper result down 80 cm shows how an avalanche can easily step down to more deeply buried weak layers. </p> <p> </p> <p>Photo below is the failure on the 2/11 layer</p> <p> </p> <p>Shovel tilt tests failed easily on the 2/11 layer</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Photo below is the deeper failure down 80cm</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Pit #2 is due north at 10,760'. East was bad, but due north is even worse. ECTP 18 and ECTP 23 down 44 cm on NSF 1.5 - 2 mm.</p> <p> </p> <p></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>This is simply a bad set up, especially for this time of year. It feels like spring in the town of Moab. This is when people start to think about bigger objectives in the mountains. The snowpack looks more like December. It is weak and shallow and I have zero confidence in it right now. </p> <p> </p>
I found soft powder on the low-angle slopes facing north and east in Colorado Bowl. Low-elevation slopes around the trailhead were damp.