Lazyboy Powder, Wind and Fractures

<p>Blower powder and blower winds. Strong westerly winds were transporting the low density snow very rapidly. No signs on instability or activity on the way up though this changed at 1950m. Lots of cracking soft slab that didn’t propagate more than a metre underfoot but breaking off often on low angle terrain. Ski pen 30cm @ 1800m Snow Profile 11:30am HS beyond 320cm probe 1990m elevation 42 degrees ESE aspect ECTP11 SP down 25cm Density (Top 110cm of snowpack) 25cm F (Storm Snow) 1-2cm 4F (Facets) 20cm 4F (Settled New Snow) 63cm 1F (Old Settled Snow) At first when the fracture propagated I suspected it was on a density change. Though after removing the slab that broke from lack of cohesion the layer it failed on appeared to be sugary. Revisiting the examination wall I found this thin 1-2cm faceted layer that I believe to be the result of last weekends zipper crust followed by the arctic outflow last week. I suspect that the near surface faceting from last week cooked the what was an already brittle and thin zipper crust that is still reactive. Popping back into Ottoman we found a skin track from the bottom which also wasn’t there when we came in (we ascended the new growth and traversed a straight line across Otto) and some down tracks above debris that wasn’t present when we ascended. </p>

Terrain Ridden

Alpine slopes, Dense trees, Mellow slopes, Open trees.

Terrain Avoided

Convex slopes, Steep slopes.

Avalanche Conditions

30cm + of new snow, or significant drifting, or rain in the last 48 hours.

Snow Conditions

Deep powder.

Weather Conditions

Stormy.