Quick report
- Red Flags
- Recent Avalanches, Wind Loading, Cracking, Poor Snowpack Structure
The wind was the big news today. Heads up tomorrow on aspects on the east half of the compass. It was a rugged day walking on the upper elevation ridglines; one of the coldest days of the year for me. We didn't spend any time digging today other than hasty pits, it was just too cold. South aspects had a couple of crust layers sandwiching cold soft snow but still skied nicely. Possibly something to keep an eye on if we get a substanstial amount of snow in the near future.
Corni are large and we gave them a wide berth while walking the ridges.
Still ereing to the side of caution concerning the persistent weaknesses in the snowpack especially where we were traveling today in upper elevation exposed terrain. Skiing is fast and fun and you don't need much pitch to have a good time. Moderate slope angles and mid to low elevation sheletered terrain are offering good times.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>The wind was moving a fair amount of snow today and I was finding shallow, sensitve wind drifts. The winds were reaching terrain well off the ridge lines and were even felt down in the canyon bottoms. I think a lot of snow was just vaporizing into the atmosphere. Increasing danger if the wind keeps up as there is a lot snow available for transport. </p>
Maybe an inch or two from last night but hard to tell due to the wind.