Quick report
- Cracking
- specific
- Collapsing
- isolated
Where the skiing looked good (in the more sheltered, non scoured areas we travelled through) we observed multiple signs of instability in the snowpack between the new snow-crust interface including cracking and whumpfing. We were quite content not traveling in or skiing anywhere steep + connected enough to slide. Noticed cracking in the upper layers of the snowpack while skinning up. Snowpack collapsed with a big whumpf while we were transitioning beneath the buttress.
Weather
- Air Temp
- 5
- Cloud Cover
- clear
- Wind Loading
- light
- Recent Snowfall
- 14 cm
- Snow Avail For Transport
- moderate amounts
Snowpack
Snowpack consisted of areas of scoured crust that was barely skier supportable (not boot supportable) and areas of 1-4F windslab on top of the crust. The windslab was more widespread than the exposed crust. We dug a mini pit where we transitioned at 4700' where we observed 40 cm of 1-4F windslab on top of 4 cm of 2mm graupel lying directly above a P hard crust. Beneath the upper crust were a series of other crust/ice layers. A shovel shear test collapsed upon isolation (STC) on the graupel layer (see photos). We guessed the whompf we heard to also have been a collapse on this layer.