Quick report
- Red Flags
- Heavy Snowfall, Cracking, Collapsing, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Enough red flags checked that I did not need to see a lot of terrain to feel that conditions are very unstable. </p>
This mini avalanche happened as I was traveling through the forest and was a red flag that conditions are quite unstable. I did not need to see a lot of area after seeing this and hearing numerous collapses.
A quick and dirty snow pit confirmed all the red flags where a slab now rests on top of a very weak snow and it was easy to get propagation of a crack.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Heavy snowfall, steady winds and a poor snow pack structure have put the snow pack on the edge. I was getting collapsing and cracking on nearly flat terrain and had numerous collapses that would shake the snow out of small trees. I would imagine with more heavy snow and wind, the snow pack will no longer handle the stress.</p> <p>I did not get into terrain where the wind has been drifting snow, but I would bet a stiffer wind slab has overloaded many slopes.</p>
Not sure the weather stations are picking up the cold light density snow that has been falling. I was surprised at how much new snow there was just up the highway from the trail head. I was measuring 14-16" of snow that has fallen in the last few days and the coverage at the mid elevation has greatly improved.