Quick report
We took a romantic ride into the Swan Range to see if we could find more buried surface hoar. We focused our efforts on sheltered northerly aspects at mid- and upper elevations.
- We did not find buried surface in our hand pits and tests pits.
- We found faceted snow, and a freezing rain crust from January burried 2 feet deep.
- Pit tests produced non-propagating results on these layers.
- Pits at mid- and upper elevations revealed stiffening slabs (4F-1F) above buried weak layers.
- We observed no wind, blowing snow, wind-textured surfaces, cracking, or collapsing.
- Sled-cutting small but steep test slopes produced no results.
We sledded and skied short steep pitches, traveling one at a time. On low-angle slopes, we held hands. Finally, we reenacted the spaghetti scene from "Lady and the Tramp". It was the perfect Valentine's Day.
No obvious signs of instability
Weather
- Air Temp
- 20
- Cloud Cover
- overcast
- Wind Loading
- none
- Rain Elevation
- 0
- Recent Snowfall
- 5-10
- Snow Avail For Transport
- large amounts
S-1 all day. 2-5 cm of fresh on the ground with another 2-5 cm during the day. Calm wind.
Snowpack
@ 6500, N
- HS = 215 cm
- ECTN 13 down 30 cm on dendrites
- ECTN 24 down 60 cm on facets
- CTH 28 (RP) down 60 cm on facets
- 1/8 freezing rain crust down 70 cm
@ 6800 ft, E
- HS = 170 cm
- ECTN 23 down 50 cm on facets above 1/8 freezing rain crust
Avalanche
Small cornice fall on NE slope 7000'