Quick report
- Cracking
- specific
Lots of crusty areas mixed with newly formed wind lips and scouring throughout. Exposed rocks in wind scoured areas are still exposed. Some localized surface cracking along my ascent from poles and dog paws. Although prevailing wind was coming from N-NW, the wind swirls around in the canyon and ends up depositing snow from the opposite direction, too. Strong winds resulting in intense, widespread wind scouring. Combined with the wet start to this storm, there are lots sugary grains underneath newly falling snow, causing localized cracking observed while skinning/ when using poles. In some cases you could easily punch all the way to a shrub or even the ground in areas already wind scoured. No widespread instabilities observed but lots of little wind lips and features starting to fill in.
Weather
- Air Temp
- 14
- Cloud Cover
- overcast
- Wind Loading
- intense
- Rain Elevation
- (unk)
- Recent Snowfall
- 45cm
- Snow Avail For Transport
- large amounts
-10C, overcast, snowing, intense scouring and transport strong winds predominantly from N-NW but mixing around. The start of this storm was much warmer (we started with a warm dense cement-like layer yesterday, but as the temps dropped and the storm picked up the snow is more "normal"
Snowpack
Snow pit dug @ ~8490ft, N-NW aspect on a steep-ish (36degree) slope. Total snow depth 90cm, with two sugary layers sandwiched between more consolidated slabs. 0-20cm = F (sugary, large rounded grains >1mm); 20-35cm = 2-3F; 35-45cm = 4F; 45-49cm = F (another sugary layer with larger rounded grains); 49-52cm = 1F-P; 52-65cm = 3F; 65-70cm = 3F; 70-80cm = 3F; 80-90cm =4F. To note are the weak layers @ the base of the snowpack, and again half way through. Also did a compression test, CTE to 45cm, then again to the base of the snow pack. The newly deposited snow has much smaller crystals compared to the weak layers.