Quick report
- Red Flags
- Poor Snowpack Structure
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Shallow snowpack showing signs of faceting on all aspects. </p>
"One who sees the summer grasses will find enlightenment, not rocks, when the new snows are thin." - Anonymous
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Not observed in our immediate area, but the wind loaded gullies on W aspects near tree line (NTL) on Laurel Peak. N facing aspects on the Laurel ridgeline also appeared wind loaded, as noted in other observations.</p> <p>As noted earlier, faceting is happening in the shallow snowpack with cold, clear nights.</p>
Height of snow (HS) was averaging 30-40 cm at 10,300 ft on W-SW aspects. Snow was mostly supportable on grass and bushes, with a few rocks lurking. Surface conditions included sporadic pockets of 5-10 mm easily breakable melt-freeze and wind crust (see photo, under skis). Further up the Horse Creek Basin we observed more wind-scalloped snow surfaces and cross loading in gullies on the W face of Laurel Peak (see photo). Snowpack structure was not as poor as other parts of the range, but showing signs of faceting. Time to ski low angle solar meadows before the warm sunny days ahead!