Quick report
- Aspect
- Northeast
- Red Flags
- Wind Loading, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Elevation
- 2774 m
- Slope Angle
- 10°
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>The wind loading was the primary red flag. Although I found strong over weak snow, the structure in the area visited was the best I have seen in a little while. Not getting my hopes up though. Want to see some more loading events stress this layering again. There were plenty of recent notable explosives triggered avalanches in the ski area just up drainage on similar aspects form this week. </p>
Numerous snow machine tracks throughout the area and when I talked to the party, they indicated they had no collapsing or cracking, and had not seen any activity between Tibble Fork and Sinners Pass. They kept it chill in the trees and some open meadows, but were not interested in the larger slopes. However, they did get on some pieces of avalanche terrain (simple) and there was no sign of instability.
Photo:
1. Texture *wind which way?
2. Wind skin was sometimes supportable under skis, and would sometimes break apart while skiing and skinning.
3. Pagan Basin. It looked like a subtle crown could be seen under the cliffs. And there were some brushy limbs sticking up here and there in the main bowl. This made me think it had run during one of the last storm cycles in December. However, there wasn't notable debris stacked up in the forest below.
4. Pagan Basin Profile photo to accompany formal graphical profile
5. Wet loose out of Sugar cliffs, but looked to be from yesterday.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Still there. Although, in the Sinners Pass area I was surprised to see the layer thickness was less than 20cm (Ground to 20cm). These facets were also a bit damp and would clump in your hand. </p> <p>Winds were moving snow along the highest ridges and channeling down through the terrain. Not a lot of drifting at mid elevation. Upper elevation it was pluming off ridges from time to time, but not much suspension. Some saltation of the surface snow noted in open terrain. </p>
In the sheltered areas below the wind, the snow surface was creamy and even beginning to facet in some places. There was also a windskin and notable texture in many open slopes at mid and upper elevations. Along the ridgelines there was a lot of wind damage from the easterly winds earlier this week. No propagation in snowpack tests (ECTX and PST 100/100). CT5 SC at ground was inconclusive.