Quick report
- Red Flags
- Wind Loading, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Underneath the new snow is several inches of facets from the surface decomposition over the last couple weeks. We only had time to venture up to about 7000ft (the boundary of the middle elevations), but found sizable and significant buried surface hoar in many places throughout the zone (the Refrigerator Canyon skinner, near the LZ, along the skinner above the LZ, on Indicator Hill, etc.). </p> <p>I was surprised by this distribution and persistence, which included slopes N to E (didn't look into other aspects). Surface hoar was often 0.5 to 1cm feathers, in some cases even a couple centimeters in size. It was also reactive underfoot, with the soft slab of new snow sliding easily when stepping out of the skin track. I will be proceeding very cautiously as the storm snow accumulates this week.</p> <p>Wind effects were also evident in the low elevations, a wind skin forming in exposed locations. We didn't stick around long enough to see more than this, but I have no doubt the classic Cutler Ridge winds were drifting snow readily in the mid and upper elevations.</p>
About 18" of snowpack at 7000ft. The bottom third is a stout (K) ice lens on the ground. Above this is decomposing snow/facets sandwiched between another thinner crust. Atop the crust is the old snow surface--decomposing mixed forms, near-surface facets, and in many places the large surface hoar. This was buried by 3ish inches of new snow. This generalized to our observations at elevations below.
Pictured is a mediocre hand pit photo and large surface hoar pulled from just beneath the new snow.
Coverage is still low tide. The new snow fell on bare road for the first several hundred yards from the trailhead. Plenty of hazards in the terrain beyond this. A few trees down across the skinner, bushes, rocks, etc. Pictured are the LZ and Indicator Hill to give an idea of coverage.
Snowpack
New snow was rimed stellars with a bit of graupel and decent hand cohesion. Fairly smooth and creamy underfoot, gauzy upon close inspection. This sits atop the old facets.