Quick report
- Cracking
- isolated
- Collapsing
- isolated
I observed wind loading, audible collapsing under skier weight (wumphing), stiffening and building windslabs on N/NE/E aspects, and an increasing instability trend, especially on slopes with less skier tracks prior to today's storm. Wumphing experienced above rollover into Avalanche Bowl Center and rollover into Triple Direct.
Weather
- Cloud Cover
- overcast
- Wind Loading
- moderate
- Recent Snowfall
- 38
- Snow Avail For Transport
- moderate amounts
Blustery winter day, S1, OVC, winds moderate out of the West, small amounts of graupel observed around 11:00.
Snowpack
I dug a quick pit in the snowfields above Bear Claw on a North aspect at approximately 9110' with a slope angle of 28 degrees. I observed 38cm of FH new snow and graupel over a 4cm layer of 4F facets. These overlayed a 5cm thick 1F crust, followed by 25cm of faceted grains and melt forms that interfaced with the bed surface. I got an ECTP24 at 35 centimeters close to the interface of the new snow and faceted grains. The overlying slab lacked consolidation or energy in the area of my pit, but I traveled on snow that was clearly consolidating as a day went on. My results reinforce today's avalanche problem and highlight the potential lack of stability driven by melt forms overlying crusts in areas of snow from earlier this season.