Quick report
I triggered a very small wet loose avalanche at 7800ft on a steep east aspect.
Weather
- Air Temp
- 50
- Cloud Cover
- few
- Wind Loading
- none
- Snow Avail For Transport
- none
Winds were light to moderate. A few clouds in the sky and warm temperatures especially on sunny slopes.
Snowpack
Today at Paulina the snow surface became heavy and wet on sunny slopes by 10am. I was able to easily trigger pin wheels and even a very small wet loose avalanche on an east slope near the summit. Once we transition back to colder temperatures tomorrow, the wet loose activity will be a problem of the past.
At 7810ft on a north facing aspect I dug to the ground. The height of snow in this specific location is 55" (140cm). At the base of the snowpack I found some old rounding facets. These were certainly more rounded (stronger) than faceted (weaker). These were 1 finger in hardness and 2mm in size. I did not get any alarming test results on this layer.
I also searched for the buried surface hoar that Gabe found last week, however I was not able to find this today.
Overall, I did not find any other persistent weak layers, experience any collapses or see any recent avalanches (besides the very small wet loose one I triggered). In general, we know there can be alot of variability in the snowpack and it is best to do some digging and column tests to the assess the snow if you venture out there.