Quick report
- Red Flags
- Recent Avalanches, Wind Loading, Cracking, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Poor snowpack structure continues to be found at the interface to the latest small rounds of new snow over the past 48 hours. NSF's were buried in isolated locations, and multiple small wind slabs were triggered at this reactive layer. Wind slabs were anywhere from 30 cm to 15 cm thick and up to 16 meters wide. See photos below. Convex rollovers and leeward ridge lines were locations that saw this kind of sensitivity. The dense new snow aided by the winds have helped create this slab structure. </p>
1st photo by SZW.
Any sustained periods of direct sunshine during daytime heating hours may contribute to additional wet loose issues.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>See above and photos below for this wind slab issue. With the winds forecast to continue in red flag velocities, this issue most likely will remain the same and possibly increase over the next 24 hours. </p> <p>Continued warm temperatures and wind loading may combine to help increase the likelihood of Cornice issues. </p>
Mondays highs combined with the consistent winds have thickened up the remaining powder, and fortunately these same winds have helped to erase many of the pre-existing tracks. Riding today was fun, but the snow resembled dense spring like powder generally found in late March to April. Aspects on the lower half of the compass continue to grow m/f crusts. Wind damaged snow exists in much of the upper elevation exposed terrain with N and NW aspects.