Quick report
1.5-2ft of new, low density snow observed throughout our travels today. We hit more buried rocks and stumps today than we did two days ago in the same area, because the new snow covered them but was not supportable. Excellent riding conditions otherwise. I performed ECTs without results, but the Jan 2nd layer was concerning nonetheless. I think the new snow above was not enough of a slab for ECTs to propagate. So I tried a PST at the bottom and top of Jan 2nd (two faceted layers here), and got propagating results both times. Trench checks and other informal obs showed this layer throughout the area, generally down 80cm from the surface. The other potential layer of concern in this area was collapsed surface hoar down 50cm from the surface - I couldn't find any intact today but that doesn't mean it wasn't intact in places I didn't look.
An avalanche observed on Elephant's Back while driving in the morning, and unstable snowpack tests on the Jan 2nd layer. Wind slab test slopes cracked very short distances, 6-8" below the surface.Weather
- Cloud Cover
- few
- Wind Loading
- previous
- Recent Snowfall
- 50
- Snow Avail For Transport
- large amounts
Cold and sunny day, with moderate to strong N/NE winds along ridgetops in the morning, becoming calm in the afternoon. Winds did not influence the snow surface far below ridgetops.
Snowpack
180-190cm of snow probed in several locations between 8500-9200ft. Jan 2nd layer was down 80cm from the surface, and fallen surface hoar was down 50cm from the surface. Only the Jan 2nd layer produced unstable snowpack tests today.