Quick report
- Red Flags
- Recent Avalanches, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Poor snowpack structure continues to be the story. In many areas, hasty pits revealed fist hard basal facets with 1 to 4 finger layers riding over this weak subsurface. Of note, besides observations still indicating remote triggering from lengthy distances, other reports of results from ski area control detailed several ocurrances with skier triggered slides initiating after the third person had crossed the same slope. </p>
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Large and dangerous slides continued to be able to be triggered remotely today. And as the slab becomes more cohesive over the next few days, the likelihood of triggering a slide when well onto a slab is a real possibility. Inadequate and unpredictable bridging appears to be something that will be present for quite a while. Of note, in the upper reaches of BCC where the snowpack appears to be deeper, no cracking and or collapsing was observed today in the limited areas traveled. </p> <p>Old wind slabs from the past 36 hours appeared to have become more stubborn and unreactive today. Yet, with the forecast for the west and northwest winds to become more active over the next 12 to 24 hours fresh wind slabs may be an issue again on Friday. </p> <p>With no natural activity reported during the past 24 hours, the danger appears to be a very high consequence Moderate. With the possibility of naturals from the latest batch of winds overnight and into Friday, the danger may rise again to Considerable. </p>
The snow from the previous day settled out significantly and was based up. Ski penetration was only 3 to 4 inches maximum. The two inches from overnight made for excellent turning conditions. Low angle riding was fast and fun. Wind damage and or crusts were evident on the most exposed terrain features and ridgelines.