Quick report
- Red Flags
- Heavy Snowfall, Wind Loading, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>New snow and wind at the upper elevations, especially below the ridge line in lee areas, warns of new pockets of soft slab with energy. A generally faceted snow profile with various buried weak layers (several old rain-rime crusts) remains on NW through E aspects on mid and upper elevations slopes. The latest storm did not seem to awaken these persistent weak layers and produce any avalanche activity, skier-triggered or natural, but the weaknesses are still there.</p>
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Sensitive new soft slab pockets at the higher elevations on steeper slopes. Even a small skier-triggered slab release could step down in to weaker snow beneath and quickly become serious.</p> <p>In some areas of the big E-face of Ben Lomond, hard slab remains perched above above a largely faceted snowpack with several buried weak rime crust layers.</p>
Finally looks like winter again. New snow falling at the trailhead (1") all the way to the ridge line (5-6"). Great skiing conditions all the way down to the very lowest elevations where a mildly breakable crust awaited the too-slow turn.