Quick report
We triggered a very shallow Wind Slab midway down a north facing slope. It was very shallow but propogated far enough that I was knocked off my feet.
Weather
- Cloud Cover
- clear
- Wind Loading
- light
Sunny and warm. On the summit the wind felt Light from the south.
Snowpack
I observed widespread surface hoar. After such a warm, sunny day I doubt that this surface hoar will be preserved on any but the shadiest slopes (north facing). Surface hoar is beautiful, and great fun to ride through when it is on the snow surface but can become a dangerous weak layer if it is buried by new snow. By midday, even moderately steep sunny slopes were warming up enough to have melting surface snow and we observed lots of roller balls on steep east slopes.
Test profiles and pole probing failed to find any presistent weak layers buried in the upper snowpack. I found 176 cm of snow on a northwest slope at 7,160 ft. The prominent rain crust was buried 50 cm.