Quick report
- Cracking
- specific
We observed cracking in wind drifts and cornices at upper elevations.
Weather
- Cloud Cover
- broken
- Wind Loading
- moderate
- Rain Elevation
- 3500 ft
- Recent Snowfall
- 15
- Snow Avail For Transport
- moderate amounts
Today was mostly cloudy, with some breaks in the clouds leading to short periods of sunshine. Moderate west winds blew at middle and upper elevations. Temperatures were warm. There were 3 to 6 inches of new snow.
Snowpack
We dug a snowpit on an east aspect at 8000 ft. There was 15 cm of new snow on a crust. The old crust from early February was buried 85 cm deep and had small, rounding facets above and below it. There were 4F hard rounding facets near the ground. However, these were unreactive in tests. One issue with our ECT was the inability to fully isolate the 85cm crust due to hardness, and as a result, we cannot rule out avalanche potential on the crust interface.
The primary concern today was the wind slab. New snow and steady west winds showed signs of wind transport, like fresh slabs and cracking around skis. In some areas, these slabs were close to 12 inches in depth.