Quick report
- Cracking
- isolated
Overall, while winds were howling, there wasn't enough snow available for transport to develop wind slabs on the slopes where we traveled. The only signs of instability we observed were cracking along windrows and drifts on the ridgelines.
Cracking was isolated to wind-loaded ridgelines.Weather
- Air Temp
- 20-30
- Cloud Cover
- overcast
- Wind Loading
- light
- Recent Snowfall
- 8- 14
- Snow Avail For Transport
- small smounts
Moderate winds with strong gusts out of the north and northwest throughout the day.
Snowpack
We dug a pit on a north aspect at 9100' in sheltered terrain. HS 254cm, and our two layers of concern, 2/16 and 2/8, were buried 60 and 75cm down. Our tests showed no signs of instability, with two ECTX scores and two PST scores of 60/100 Arr and 75/100 Arr on the 2/8 weak layer. Note: Informal loading of both ECTs after 30 taps (aka Hulk smash) produced propagation on both 2/8 and 2/16 simultaneously.
The winds were blowing snow, building up 30-40cm windrows and drifts along the ridgelines, but this tapered off quickly once moving onto the slopes below.