Quick report
- Red Flags
- Heavy Snowfall, Wind Loading
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>S3-S5 snowfall at times after noon, With heaviest from 14:00-15:00 in the highest reaches of Albion basin below point supreme. Winds were in the mid to upper teens and drifting snow along ridge.</p>
Overall today was a solid return to winter. April provides. Despite numerous provocations of the newly formed very small and shallow cornices on test slopes along the Patsy ridge, the new snow would not really entrain. The first run was steeper Westerly facing terrain near the tower on Patsy back toward the Alta Summer Road. No sluffing noted at 10am. I purposefully stayed in the forest for visibility the rest of the day due to intense snowfall rates and did not observe the high alpine after 12pm. Kept slope angles at or below 30-32 the rest of the day. Performed one test profile at 10000' just down on the Alta side of Catherine's.
Photos:
1. The prominent crust laminates are visible down 40 and 70cm. With a notable, but not reactive layer of moist facets sandwiched between two melt freeze crusts down 70-80cm.
2. Some scary cornices out there atop Wolverine Cirque.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>With over 60cm of new snow in 48 hours should be in the mix for storm slab. It appeared that the medium density snow had not really created a cohesive slab yet. I Did numerous boot pen measurements and it was straight through to the old melt freeze. The new/old interface was not a factor. CT14 SP x 2 down 35cm on some crystal type change. No propagation. Trail breaking was tiring but not onerous. </p> <p>Winds seemed well behaved and were creating small drifts and and overhanging new cornices on top of the old sagging behemoths. Travel on ridgelines was before intense snowfall rates and I never observed any gusts in the AM greater than 15mph.</p>
Deep HST with drifts up to 60-80cm. Intermixed storm layering with some crystal type changes in upper 40cm. High quality, right side up powder.